


Fated

by queenofhags



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Falling In Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27114289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofhags/pseuds/queenofhags
Summary: In Turf Wars Vol. 1, Korra tells Asami that she realized she had feelings for her when she was paralyzed. With a slight variation to the canon, I wanted to elucidate, and expand on how Korra arrived at that conclusion. This story focuses on Korra and Asami, if Asami had joined Korra for a few weeks at the Southern water tribe before being forced to return to Republic City. This story picks up following the Canon, after Korra's fight with Zaheer.“The three years you were gone were the longest of my life. I think that's when I realized how much you meant to me. I almost told you in one of my letters.”“Why didn't you?”“You'd already been away for so long... I guess I was scared if you didn't feel the same way, then maybe you'd never come back. How about you? When did you know how you felt?"“After I was poisoned... you were there for me when I couldn't even be there for myself. But I was so messed up back then. My mind was in a million different places. I didn't know if how I felt about you was real or not. But it wasn't an accident that you were the only one I wrote to when I was gone.”
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 26
Kudos: 121





	1. The Venom of the Red Lotus (Prologue)

Everyone watched with bated breath. Korra lie there still, in front of all that had worked with her to face Zaheer just moments earlier. Korra’s vacant whimper was actively fading from her expression, as she continued to succumb to unconsciousness. Uncontrollably pained expressions darted around the group as they watched the most powerful woman in the world struggle to take shallow breaths.

A concerned look from Su rested upon Korra’s limp body. Cradled by Tonraq’s large frame, she looked inexplicably small and fragile. It was hard, for everyone, to be faced with the reality that the girl they had always assumed to be diamond, may have really been a glass canon. The guilt of their collective action weighed on them. Could they have thought quicker, and come up with a better plan? They never should have let Korra go alone. She was just a girl. And how painfully obvious that was to them all now, seeing her normally spirited locks fall lifelessly around her expressionless face. Her characteristic messy ponytail had ruptured in battle, leaving a sea of tattered and dirty brown locks to fall into her father’s lap. Her lips, normally smirking and stiff, were soft and ever so slightly parted. The softness of her lower lip was particularly more noticeable than usual. Her near lifeless form brought out an innocence in the avatar only few in the group had truly seen.

Zaheer’s laugh was smug, and it infuriated the group.

“HA HA HA HA,” He cried out joyfully.

“What are you laughing about?” Lin snapped, eyes looking through slits.

“You’re too late,” he laughed maniacally. “The poison’s been in her system too long! The Red Lotus had WON!” It felt desolate for a brief moment, before Jinora spoke. She had seen the members of the Red Lotus poison Korra. She knew what needed to be done, and targeted her gaze towards Su.

“You can save her. The poison is metallic!”

Su started immediately towards Korra, and knelt purposefully. Even in her most focused moments, Su had a gentle way about her. This put Tonraq as much at ease as he could be. Su paused over Korra, trying to sense the poison Jinora had spoken of. After a brief moment, she indeed located it. It was barely there, but it was present enough for her to feel it. Her hands moved knowingly over the avatar’s form, slowly identifying the molecular iotas of poison and pulling them out of her bloodstream and musculature. Su knew this would be painful, and was pleased the avatar would not be awake for this process. Everyone’s eyes followed Su’s hands anxiously as she extracted the poison. Even Lin—who was normally steely—projected a wide-eyed expectancy. A tear shuddered in Bolin’s eye. Tonraq gripped Korra’s hand with all of the fatherly strength he could muster. Asami held her breath, hands clutched concernedly together. What else could she do?

Then, Korra’s eyes. Previously shuddered together, they snapped open. Normally pretty, earnest and blue, they were now masked by an otherworldly, bright white glow. The poison erupted through her mouth, spilling out and onto the dirt beside her. Korra coughed violently, and slowly turned her head over to the person who had been cradling her.

Her eyes, weary and tired, looked over as she muttered, “Dad?”

“You’re alive,” she smiled weakly.

“I’m here for you,” Tonraq’s voice hummed with the strength it was known for. A strength his people also found solace in. “I’m never going to let you go.”

Tonraq brought her body into a tight hug, to which Korra hardly registered.

“No! NO!” Zaheer shouted from his earthly confines. “You don’t understand. The revolution has already begun!” Chaos is the natural order—!” Nobody was listening. Before he finished his rant, Bolin stuffed a sock in his mouth. The intentional pun of which he promptly boasted to Opal about. The attention was entirely on the young avatar, and her shallow, steady breaths.

“Classic Bolin,” Opal smiled sheepishly.

“I do what I do.”

-

The delicate and ornate golden pin was cool on Asami’s painted lips. Asami was quite proud of herself. She had always been rather good at doing her own hair. Being an only child, she didn’t have many opportunities to style anyone else’s locks. In addition, growing up in Republic city led her to have very little exposure to traditional water tribe hair styling. Thus, this proved to be a very uneasy practice run for her. It started out a little rocky, because Korra’s hair was much thicker than her own and Asami was unfamiliar with the texture. It was a challenge to work with the different lengths of the ends, and guide them to fall neatly. Nothing about Korra was delicate or neat, and her hair was no exception. Despite all of that, Asami thought she did a good job of styling Korra’s hair. It was nothing short of unruly when Asami got to her in the morning. After her mother helped Korra bathe, Asami offered for Senna to take a break, and asked Korra if it were okay that she do her hair. Korra nodded weakly, eyes fixated on nothing particular. Her gaze rested feebly toward her knees. Asami had watched Senna these past few days being strong and smiling around her daughter. But Korra’s implicit refusal to show any vitality looked as though it was starting to weigh on Senna. Senna had been running tirelessly, adapting as Korra struggled to do anything independently after her paralysis. Senna fetched her food, water, helped her dress, wash up, use the washroom, and all the while attempted to lift Korra’s spirits. The bags under her eyes almost matched Korra’s, at this point.

Senna hadn’t left Korra’s side in three days, and was hesitant, at first.

“Are you okay with me stepping out for a little while, honey?” She knelt down by Korra’s wheelchair, hand resting atop Korra’s.

“I’ll be fine with Asami, mom. You go.” Korra attempted a smile, but it presented on her face as the mere absence of pain.

“Okay then. I’m going to go ahead and prepare some meals for the next couple days here, then.” She kissed Korra lightly on the forehead, to which Korra looked down. “I love you. I won’t be far, please call for me if you need me. Thank you, Asami.” With that, she stood. She nodded at Asami, and smiled as she passed her on the way out of the room.

They were alone now, and it seemed as abnormal as ever. Asami wanted to make Korra feel normal, and treat her as such. However, Korra wasn’t her normal self. Asami knew she had to tow the line between acting ordinary and being sympathetic to Korra’s condition. Korra’s independence was intertwined with her spirit, so it was no wonder this injury was so demoralizing to her. It was hard to see Korra void of all happiness. That being said, she knew that Korra also needed her friends the most right now.

“I’m going to start with brushing your hair, okay?” Korra nodded to Amasi’s question, granting consent.

Korra’s hair was still damp when they started. The lingering scent of her shampoo was far too delicate for Korra’s affect, but it was nice. It was light. Asami tried to pinpoint the scent of it. Maybe peach, or pear?

Asami had thin and delicate fingers. She was glad she had trimmed her fingernails; it made Korra’s hair easier to work through. First, Asami started by brushing Korra’s hair back and out of her face. There was a swelling in her chest as she did so. Something about taking care of her friend while she was so vulnerable brought intense feelings of love to Asami’s chest. She felt very much like Korra’s protector in this moment, as she willed Korra’s coarse hair backwards. The tines of the brush separated it into perfect, neat rows that melded into one another as she pulled the brush through Korra’s hair. It was almost maternal, but it wasn’t. Asami had only felt like this a few times before. Though she had never been a mother to anyone, it reminded her of the way she felt when she used to have feelings for Mako. When he slept, all of his angst melted away. Asami remembered she once stroked his hair as he fell asleep. She had felt great satisfaction looking down at him resting peacefully. Asami knew her love for Korra was as intense, if not more intense than her love for Mako. Korra was her best friend, and the love that accompanied that designation was immense.

In the deepest corners of her mind, she wondered if maybe there was more of a connection between how she felt for Korra and how she had felt for Mako, previously. A small thought raced into her brain, that maybe she liked Korra in the same way that she once liked Mako. She had these thoughts from time to time, but dismissed them as just that—wandering thoughts. She chased this thought away. It felt weird to be thinking about Korra _like that_ when she was performing such a vulnerable task for her.

Korra felt very much like a shell as Asami tugged and manipulated her hair. She was uncomplaining, expressionless, and stared forward much like a statue. Asami worried, of course. But her worry was not entirely appropriate. She knew Korra wasn’t going to improve overnight and she also knew that she could not comprehend what Korra was going through. Asami had never felt as though she was inches away from death. Asami had never been paralyzed. It was hard for her to think about. Asami felt the hint of a tear welling up, but blinked it away. It wasn’t fair to Korra for Asami to be mourning the loss of her movement in addition to Korra. Asami felt a great duty to get Korra’s mind off of that, in fact.

Asami knew inside that Korra wasn’t in the mood to converse, as she worked with Korra’s hair slowly and methodically. It was relaxing for her, and she hoped that it was relaxing for Korra, as well. The most challenging part was creating the bun in the back, of which the decorative cup-like adornment was placed upon. It took Asami a few tries, but eventually she figured it out. Korra’s hair was dry now, and much softer and fluffier than when it was damp. Asami ran her fingers through the ends, willing the hair to piece together, so it could lay flat. Korra’s hair was very beautiful and strong. Very much a reflection of her character. There was much to admire about Korra, even simply in her physical manifestation.

Asami was done, but she didn’t want to tell Korra just yet. They still had about ten minutes until they needed to leave for the ceremony, and Asami felt it wasn’t quite finished yet. Something was missing.

It dawned on her. She took the golden clip out of her own hair, and moved it around Korra’s bun, searching for a nice placement. She found the prettiest configuration near the bottom of Korra’s bun, poking it under the water tribe hairpiece. It was beautiful. Asami felt warm inside knowing that Korra would have an extra piece of finery for the ceremony. It also made her feel pretty great that a tiny piece of her would be with Korra all night.

“There you go. All fixed up for a formal Avatar appearance.” Asami said with a gingerly pride. Her voice feigned soft excitement for Korra’s sake. She reached over for the pretty gold mirror resting beside them on the bed. She held it up so that Korra could see herself. Asami could also see Korra’s face in the mirror. Korra all dressed up made her stomach twinge, in a good way. Asami was slightly breathless, and smiley. Korra was gorgeous. She was so proud of her friend.

Korra looked up meekly, and there was no expression in her eyes. She looked incredibly sad, and tired. This sent a pang through Asami’s chest. It was so hard to see her like this.

“It’s great. Thanks.” Korra tried her hardest to sound grateful, but she could tell that Korra was hardly feeling anything. Her beautiful, full cheeks turned back downwards. For seemingly the first time, Asami noticed them. She _really_ , noticed them. Asami had never had quite a girl crush like this, before. She was struck by how pretty Korra was. Instead of jealousy, it made her want to be closer with Korra. She supposed this is how most close girl friendships worked. She had had other girlfriends before, but not like Korra. Asami would genuinely lay down her life for the torn apart girl in front of her.

“You know,” Asami tried to comfort Korra, using her most gentle tone of voice.

“Nobody expects you to bounce back right away.” She placed her hand on Korra’s defeated shoulder, and moved around Korra’s wheelchair. She knelt, and leaned in close to Korra. Korra wouldn’t look her in the eyes. She simply stared downwards, the purple, tired bags under her eyes painfully evident.

“It’s only been two weeks,” Asami continued. “You need time to heal.” Korra did not acknowledge her. Asami figured she really couldn’t. She could sense Korra was broken beyond any soothing words she could offer. Asami reached out to comfort Korra in the only way she thought Korra would receive. Asami gripped Korra’s hand lovingly, and gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. She looked up at Korra.

“I want you to know that I’m here for you.” And she meant it. “If you ever want to talk…” Asami paused for the briefest of moments. She wanted to offer that if Korra ever needed a hug, or someone to grab something for her, or take care of her in any way, that she would be there. She didn’t want to offend Korra by insinuating she couldn’t do anything for herself, so she finished her sentence with, “…or, anything. But let’s just try and enjoy this today.” She paused meaningfully. “For Jinora.”

At the sound of Jinora’s name, Korra’s eyes widened. She suddenly snapped back into reality, and her eyes widened in recognition of the small girl’s tattoo ceremony. Korra closed her eyes and breathed inwards.

“You’re right.” Korra’s strengthened voice acknowledged Asami’s comment. She breathed out, and with even more conviction she made a statement.

“Okay. Let’s go.” She looked forward, now. Asami could see strength return to her eyes, and it filled her with pride. Korra couldn’t be strong for herself right now, but she was being strong for Jinora. That was one of the things Asami loved about her. Asami stood up wordlessly and moved to the back of Korra’s chair, making it as easy as possible for Korra to exist in the world without being able to move. Asami tried to anticipate Korra’s needs, that way. So that Korra didn’t always have to ask.

They arrived by boat at air temple island. The group was waiting for them there. Kya, and Bumi, looking aggressively broken, were smiling sympathetically at them. Tonraq and Senna stood looking proudly upon their beautiful daughter, no doubt excited she had made it out of bed. Tenzin’s family looked upon Korra sympathetically. This included Meelo, to the surprise of everyone. President Raiko looked on in pity, and Zuko remained in a strong stance, relatively expressionless. The Beifong sisters both looked upon Korra worriedly, knowing too well what she had been through. Zuko bowed for the Avatar upon her reaching the group.

Korra nodded weakly at the group as her mother ran over to hug her. This brought Korra no peace, unfortunately. Tonraq followed, kneeling to give his daughter a hug.

“You look beautiful, sweetie.” He said in earnest. The smallest, calm smile rose to Korra’s face. Her eyes were still exhausted, but her lips twisted up instead of down, for the first time in many days.

“You’re looking stronger every day, Korra!” Tenzin shared respectfully.

“I’d officially like to welcome you back to Republic City.” Announced President Raiko. “I know that the last time we saw each other it didn’t end on the best terms. But I want to thank you for taking down those Red Lotus terrorists.” Korra did not acknowledge him, but instead looked down sadly, in defeat. Asami noticed her change in demeanor, and brought a smile to her face.

“We should go inside.”

“I wanna help!” Ikki exclaimed brightly.

“I wanna ride with Korra!” Meelo announced. Without warning, he scrambled up into the Avatar’s wheelchair and sat on her lap. This made Korra, and Asami smile. Korra wrapped her arms around Meelo protectively, like a seatbelt.

“Jinora’s already inside. It smells like shoe trees.” He rotated his head completely backwards as he said this to look Korra in the eyes. His words brought a genuine smile to Korra’s lips, and her eyes smiled wearily this time, too.

“Sandalwood, Meelo.” Ikki rolled her eyes.

And then, they reached the bottom of the white, stone steps. Another reminder of the daily tasks that Korra could not accomplish on her own. Before anyone could think, Lin stepped forwards.

“I got this.” She stated, as the ground formed a flat platform beneath them. Lin rested a hand on Korra’s shoulder, and Korra looked up at her. “Hang in there, Kid.” Lin reassured. The ground lurched upwards, and Lin carried them seamlessly up the steps, reforming the steps below as they passed.

“She’s not looking good,” President Raiko said inconsiderately. Tonraq stepped to Korra’s defense.

“Neither would you if you’d gone through what she had.”

“She’ll be fine, she just needs time to heal,” Tenzin responded. “The poison took a great toll.”

The rest of the president’s concerns fell largely on deaf ears. They all proceeded up to the ceremony, rubbed the wrong way by the president’s lack of sensitivity and empathy.

Asami could tell Korra was not doing very well. The ceremony included a pledge from Tenzin that the airbenders would take care of the world as Korra healed. To Korra, this was an unwelcome reminder of her inability to do her job as the Avatar. A mix of happiness for Jinora and self-pity rose in her throat. Tears bubbled in her eyes. She blinked, and they streamed down her face. She hoped that nobody had seen.

-

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I am so excited for you to leave.”

“How else is she supposed to take that but the wrong way?” Mako snapped back at him.

“I mean because I’ve never had a pen pal before! I’m going to write you so many letters, and just to get the ball rolling, here.” He handed her a letter. “Spoiler alert, Pabu and I already miss you.”

“Thanks, that’s sweet.” Korra smiled downwards.

“Are you sure you don’t want some company in the southern water tribe? I’m happy to come with you.” Asami tried, again. She would really prefer to be going with Korra. She has asked before, but Korra refused. Korra had cited worries that she would only be gone a couple of weeks, and that it wasn’t Asami’s job to take care of her. That Korra would have felt badly if she felt force to go with her.

“No, I’ll only be gone for a couple of weeks. Besides, a little time alone would be good for me.”

“Now, I don’t want you to worry about a thing while you’re gone. Your recovery should be your number one concern. Jinora, the airbenders, and I have everything under control.” Tenzin reassured Korra. Korra thanked the airbenders politely.

“Okay. I’m ready,” Korra said to Asami, who knew it was time to wheel her onto the ship. Tonraq offered to wheel Korra in, but Asami refused. She was grateful for the extra moments with Korra.

“I’m going to miss you, you know.” Asami said quietly. Korra didn’t respond, other than with a slight grunt when her chair went over the bump that connected the ramp, and the dock. Asami knew she shouldn’t take advantage of Korra’s lack of movement, but when they entered the ship she stopped the wheelchair, and came around front. She knelt at Korra’s level, and tried to meet her fallen eyes.

“Korra,” she said softly. “I know you don’t want me to have to take care of you, but I’d really like to join you to the Southern Water Tribe.” Asami stumbled awkwardly over her words.

“I know it’s not my place, but honestly I need to be away for a little while. And you’re my best friend, and you’re leaving, and you’re hurt—”

“Asami.” Korra interrupted sternly, eyes so diverted they were almost closed. “I don’t think—”

“Please?” Asami looked into Korra’s blue eyes with her green ones, and saw something small change in them. Asami’s perfectly lacquered burgundy lips parted with a sad softness as she looked up at Korra. Korra’s eyes shifted away from Asami’s.

“Please, Korra. I would really love to accompany you. Even if you aren’t feeling yourself.”

“Well, even if you did—” Korra started.

“Is that a yes?” Asami’s green eyes lit up more than usual, which was frighteningly beautiful. Korra almost blushed as the dark haired girl threw her arms around her with glee.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Korra shrugged back at her, with a soft smile. Asami had worn her down.

“Okay, I’m going to wheel you up to Kya. Don’t leave without me, I have my suitcase in the Satomobile.” Asami said brightly, wheeling Korra to the upper deck with extra vigor.

“Korra?” Asami said.

“Yeah?” she replied.

“Thanks.” Asami squeezed Korra’s shoulder. With that, they both smiled.

After leaving Korra with Kya and her parents, Asami fled in a flurry of ebony curls to her Satomobile. Old papers with invention sketches flew up and fluttered to the ground around her. She rifled through it to access the handle of her suitcase. It was her travel bag from their overnight visit to Air Temple Island, from the ceremony. It didn’t have everything she needed, but it had enough. Asami didn’t care anyways. She was just so excited to be going with Korra. Bolin and Mako chased after her weakly, but she hardly heard them in all of her excitement.

“I’m going with Korra!” She exclaimed to them, almost boasting.

“What! Why do you get to go with Korra?” Bolin whined disappointedly.

“Yeah, I thought Korra didn’t want anybody going with her.” Mako raised his eyebrow, his arms crossed in his characteristic manner.

“I guess I wore her down!” Asami smiled breathlessly, rifling for her keys in her purse. She flung them at Mako.

“Here, these are for you!” The keys hit Mako’s chest, and they slid down his shirt. He caught them at his belly button. “Park this somewhere safe, use it, I don’t care! I’m leaving! Thanks guys, goodbye!” She hurriedly ran back towards the ship, past Tenzin, who was clearly confused.

“Asami—” He started, but Asami cut him off.

“Bye Tenzin, wish me luck!” Asami grinned, and turned her heel off towards the ramp of the ship.


	2. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra isn't sleeping through the night after her fight with Zaheer. Residing in the room beside her, Asami comes to console her.

Korra writhed in her sleep. Beads of sweat covered her forehead. Her neck whipped to the right, then to the left. She grunted loudly through gritted teeth. In her head, she saw Zaheer. She saw his deplorably calm and satisfied expression while he removed the air from her lungs. She felt the same panic, the same dissociation. She felt as if she were dying, all over again. She was so petrified. The moment she felt like she has no more air left to breathe, she woke up with a start.

“Ah!” She shrieked. She realized her forehead was wet, and so was her hair. It was matted from tossing and turning. She sat with her head in her hands, trying to take a breath. For the most part, it was unsuccessful. She could only hyperventilate as the images rushed past her vision. Zaheer. The chains. The poison. The ball of air tasked with exterminating her.

Interrupting her whirlwind of thoughts, she heard someone at her door. Hoping it wasn’t her mother, or Kya, she brought her head out of her hands and wiped the tears that had formed on her cheeks.

She looked upwards to see Asami standing in the doorway. A soft yellow light spilled into her light from the hallway, and it caused the folds of Asami’s silk pyjamas to practically glisten. Korra’s mind was racing, distracted by the way the light framed her small nose, and perfectly illuminated her cupid’s bow. Her mind flashed back suddenly to visions of Zaheer in the nightmare she just had, and her gaze returned to her knees. She put her hands on the bed beside her, taking deep and ragged breaths.

She had almost forgotten Tonraq had moved Asami in the room next to her own. The other room had had a draft that made Asami very uncomfortable at night. Asami was very light and lithe, and in the Southern Water Tribe, she was always freezing. It seems as though every time Korra saw her in the past few days, she had been shivering. Korra supposed adjusting to the southern water tribe was a difficult regulation for Asami’s body, coming from the warmer climate of Republic City. She heard Asami’s soft voice.

“Korra, I heard you yell. Are you alright?” Korra barely had the energy to breathe, let alone look upwards. Korra slumped into her sitting position further, letting her arms support her upper body weight instead of her torso. Her head bowed forward for two reasons. A part of her wanted to hide her tears from Asami. But the larger, more pitiful, reason was that she just didn’t possess the energy to keep it upright.

“Can I come in?” Asami asked politely. Korra managed to nod.

In her peripheral vision, she could see Asami walking over carefully. Tears of defeat and frustration welled in her eyes, and they dripped directly downwards onto the bedsheet. Korra decided not to try and wipe them away. Asami could see that her hair and skin were drenched in sweat. Korra felt pathetic already, she knew she looked pathetic. There was no point trying to hide it from Asami. Besides, she felt like hiding her emotions was never something she had been good at. Especially not from Asami. Asami always seemed to know when something was wrong. Hiding anything from her was a pointless exercise.

She felt Asami sit beside her on the damp sheets. Korra couldn’t really move. She just kept maintaining her breath, and trying not to clench her teeth.

That’s when she felt a light flutter in her chest. She was abruptly, acutely aware that Asami was touching her back lightly.

“It’s okay Korra. It’s only a nightmare.” Asami’s hand began to move in slow circles, right between Korra’s shoulder blades. “You’re safe.” Asami reassured softly.

Asami’s words seemed to bring clarity and light to her panicked state of mind. Asami continually repeated the words of encouragement, her cool and slender hand supporting Korra’s tense musculature. As Asami rubbed her back, Korra’s exasperated breathing began to slow into something more manageable. 

“It’s okay Korra. You’re just fine. You’re safe here.” Asami repeated, as Asami’s arms wrapped around Korra. Asami pulled Korra in towards her. As Korra’s breathing calmed, Asami leaned herself into Korra, allowing Korra’s smaller frame to rest on Asami’s shoulder. Asami’s head leaned into Korra’s.

“Asami—” Korra choked, starting a sob. “I’m so scared.” With Asami this close to her, she felt all of the emotions rush upwards that she had been keeping supressed. Maybe it was the time of night, or the emotional distress of the nightmare, but Korra felt a wave of explosive feelings. She felt her fear, and her disappointment, and her stolen independence, and her inability to do anything about any of them. The world needed the Avatar, and not only was she paralyzed, but she was pathetically scared of her own dreams.

“Shhhhh. I know. It’s okay, Korra. Just breathe. Let it out.” And Korra did. Sobs wracked her body as she leaned into Asami, turning her head to rest on Asami’s shoulder. She cried until Asami’s shoulder was thoroughly dampened, and all the while Asami crooned. Asami’s eyebrows knitted together concernedly, and she held Korra tightly. She could tell Korra was barely supporting herself, and Asami was okay to take the brunt of the weight. She rocked Korra as she cried, and felt her own heart breaking with Korra’s.

“ _My poor girl._ ” Asami thought to herself sadly. Comforting Korra made her emotional, but she kept herself contained. She spoke into Korra’s sweaty tumbles of brown hair, holding Korra as tightly as she could. It was about half an hour before Korra began to settle. Eventually, Korra’s sobs slowed and her breathing moved from a wretch, to a soft in and out. Her eyes dried, and her head fell limp on Asami’s chest. Korra’s wild hair splayed out across Asami’s chest, finally at rest.

For the first time in a few days, Korra slept.

Asami didn’t want to move. The fragile, sleeping girl in her arms was so exhausted. Korra was slumped up against her, her lips parted ever so slightly. She was so innocent, broken, and sweet. It made Asami smile. Korra seemed so much smaller, now. Asami was aware that Korra was shorter than her, but her musculature made Korra seem larger, somehow. Even now, she could feel the sleeping girl’s tensed muscles against her. Although Asami wanted to stay right there, she knew that supporting Korra upright all night was not an option for the state of her abdominal muscles. Plus, sleeping Korra was producing an unnatural amount of heat, and Asami was beginning to sweat. She giggled to herself at the thought of the small Avatar producing far too much heat energy for _two_ people.

The thought of staying here with Korra all night was enticing, but also seemed forbidden. Forbidden in the sense that Korra might wake up and feel uncomfortable out that Asami had stayed. Asami considered it for the sake of Korra’s sleep quality, but upon registering the hairs from her low ponytail sticking to the back of her sweat-covered neck, she decided it was best for the both of them to let Korra down. Asami very carefully unwrapped her arms from around Korra’s abdomen. She replaced her shoulder with her hand, slipping it under Korra’s head. She inched away from Korra, to which she felt Korra stir. Korra’s head turned more inwards towards Asami. This made Asami’s heart lurch. She was so sweet, especially in her dreaming state. Asami stopped for a moment to stare at her friend’s peaceful, sleeping face.

Then, she made the move to let her down. Supporting her back and head with her arms, she placed Korra softly back onto her pillow. Asami awkwardly tried to remove her arms without waking Korra, which made her feel like some sort of bumbling spider. As she slid her hands out, Korra stirred one final time. Asami worried she had woken her. Korra tensed her eyes, and then her face relaxed. Her arms splayed out, one limp hand facing upwards, and her other arm spread downwards. When Asami had placed her down, a strand of hair covered Korra’s eyes. It was entangled in her eyelashes, causing her eye to twitch ever so slightly. Asami leaned over, and smiled. It was good to see Korra at peace, for once. Asami carefully plucked the strand of hair from Korra’s face, and affectionately tucked it behind her ear.

Asami felt good taking care of Korra. It felt right, and welled her with pride. If anyone deserved some compassion presently, it was her. The amount she had been was unfathomable, and Asami could see that Korra was not the same person she was before she fought Zaheer. She almost felt like leaning over and kissing Korra on her sweaty forehead. She wondered where that urge came from, and chalked it up to being an overprotective friend. Asami resisted, and instead padded her bare feet over to the doorway. With one last longing look at the pile of anguish behind her, she closed the door and walked back to her room.

Once in her room, Asami made her way over to her bed, and sat down carefully. Immediately, it struck her that the bed was cold. Ordinarily, cold sheets were just another part of a regular day. Compared to cradling Korra in her room, her bed might as well have been an ice box. That little water tribe girl was a furnace. It made Asami smile, thinking back on it. The Avatar produced a ton of heat, and Asami loved that. Even if that heat was accompanied by profuse sweating, Asami didn’t mind so much. It was nice to be warmed by something other than the singular candle provided for her in the water tribe room.

Asami pulled the chilled blankets over her, feeling a particular chill where Korra’s tears had dampened her robe. Asami was glad she had been there, glad that she had woken and checked on her in the first place. Asami shivered for a few moments, before achieving a relatively normal temperature. Asami’s thoughts drifted off to the thoughts of the next day, her first full day in the southern water tribe.

-

Korra woke up early. So early that the sun was barely bleaching the tone of the sapphire night sky. She was confused, at first. Where was she again? Her bumbling, innocuous thought process was abruptly ejected when she went to move her legs.

 _“Oh.”_ She frowned to herself. Remembering that she has been paralyzed was a waking nightmare. Her entire chest sank as if her vital organs were made of rock. The peace of her freshly woken state morphed into a low feeling of numbness. She ran her fingers through her hair, realizing it felt unusual. Parts of it were damp and others were stiff. Had she been sweating? A spike in adrenaline accompanied a memory of Asami.

Her mouth dropped open. She remembered Asami coming to comfort her last night. At first, she was angry. This is exactly what she didn’t want. She felt much like a child, having to be coddled, and rocked, and taken care of.

 _“I’m not helpless!”_ She thought angrily. It was a lie. She knew that she was, and that frustrated her inexplicably.

With the returning memory of Asami to breathing into her hair, a hot, prickling feeling crept up her body in a wave. As the feeling crescendoed in Korra’s cheeks and ears, it rescinded just as quickly. That anger she had previously felt faded as passively as waves return to the ocean. In its place remained an eerily calm tingle, especially in her hands. The thought of Asami’s low, lulling voice telling Korra it was going to be okay made her ear tingle in ghostly remembrance. Korra touched it lightly, to see if the tingling would stop.

 _“Great. At least I can still feel those.”_ She thought sarcastically. With her stomach in uncomfortable knots, she tried to sit up. Without the support of her lower body as leverage, it proved to be a difficult task. She needed the support of her hands to bring up her abdominal muscles successfully. As she crunched forward, she pushed her elbows out behind her. As she attempted to lift herself further by readying her hand to push up on the bed, she felt a spike of pain run up her spine.

“AGH!” She cried out. She lost the momentum she had had, and fell back onto her bed prone. Pain radiated from her back, her muscles tensing and throbbing excruciatingly. Korra closed her eyes and breathed through her nose, teeth clenched together.

How was she supposed to be the Avatar if she couldn’t even sit up by herself? She grunted in frustration.

She wasn’t able to finish her thought—Asami rushed in looking disheveled. Three hair strands fell in front of her face, very evidently occluding part of her vision. Asami’s eyes were still half-shut, and were puffier than normal. She rubbed one of them with her full palm as she steadied herself on Korra’s doorframe exasperatedly. She wobbled in place, undoubtedly not fully awake. She stood with her legs apart, trying to balance herself.

“Korra, are you okay?” Asami croaked concernedly, sleep evident in her voice. Korra didn’t know what to say. She could hardly look up at Asami, she was in so much pain. When Korra didn’t respond, Asami padded over to Korra quickly, feet dragging slightly as she walked. Her pink robe had fallen off of her one shoulder, trailing the edging of the lace fringe on the ground. The sleeve of the robe caught at Asami’s crooked elbow, and she softly sat on Korra’s bed.

Korra’s eyes were shut tightly.

“Korra what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Asami spoke worriedly.

Korra breathed out through gritted teeth, making a dedicated wincing noise. Her inhale sounded much like a gasp. She felt a cool and soft palm run over her forehead, brushing her hair off of her forehead. Korra’s erratic breathing continued for three cycles, before she felt the bed shift again.

“I’m going to get Kya.” Asami had stood up determinedly. She collected her robe, drawing the ends together in a fist. Korra opened her eyes for the briefest of moments, to see her friend rush away clumsily in her morning fog.

She didn’t remember a lot of what happened after that. Time wasn’t seeming to follow its traditional pattern, and Korra’s awareness of her surroundings felt rudimentary at best. She heard voices overlapping, one calm, one strong and one soft. The strong voice she eventually recognized as Tonraq, forcing her to drink something that tasted heavy and bitter. She saw Kya’s aging azure eyes. Pain. The physical pain radiated so far, she could feel it in her eyes. For all she knew her teeth were split. That’s how hard she had been gritting them. There was a blurriness to the world, when her eyes opened. She registered a cool, slender hand in hers. She clenched it, hard. She felt water moving over her abdomen, easing tension around her stomach. The source, however, was pulsating at the base of her spine and Korra could still hardly breathe.

“Lie her on her side.” She heard a voice chirp.

The feeling of hands erupted all along her body. She didn’t register how many people were there. She could feel someone lifting her arm. Then, in one smooth motion, Korra was lying on her side. Her cheek rested on her upwards arm. The pain was excruciating.

“We shouldn’t have moved her!”

“It’s alright, Tonraq.” A soothing voice replied. “I can sense Korra’s injuries. Moving her won’t worsen her condition, and she needs to breathe. I can access the source of her pain, now.”

A wave of relief. There was still pain, but it was significantly diminished. Korra let out a quick, sharp breath that she didn’t realize she’d been holding. The reprieve swirled up and down the length of her spine, leaving her back wet with every rotation. Each cycle of pain relief left her feeling more exhausted. The drowsiness overcame her, and she slept.

-

“I appreciate you coming to get me, Asami.” Tonraq said gruffly, staring at his withering daughter.

Kya was still at work, easing the tension built up in Korra’s back.

“Yes, thank spirits you came for us,” Kya agreed, continuing her movements. She eyed Tonraq wearily before continuing.

“She wasn’t doing well.”

“Lucky I moved rooms, I guess.” Asami chuckled awkwardly, injecting some spirit into the room.

“She’s lucky to have you, Asami.” Senna said, her hand resting on her husband’s strong shoulder. Senna’s voice had a beautiful, rumbling quality to it. Each word she produced sounded as if she willed it to tumble exquisitely out of her vocal chords.

“Yes,” Tonraq paused, bringing his eyes up to meet Asami’s across Korra’s bed.

“Thank you for coming.” He said.

Asami smiled gently.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, again! <3 Leave a comment, or a heart to let me know if you like it!


	3. The Terrible Pilot

Korra was sitting upright, now. Her hair was looking much better than it had the previous night. Kya and Senna had helped Korra bathe this morning after she had woken up. That was mortifying. Nobody had ever seen her bare, developed breasts before, and somehow she _really_ hadn’t wanted that first person to be her mother. Not to mention she had to be fully naked to be plopped in the water, and that meant Kya and her mother had seen her … well, her everything. She sighed outwardly, resting her head on the back of her headboard. They were very respectful about it, but Korra still felt embarrassed. At least Korra could wash herself, for the most part. Her mother had helped her with her lower legs.

It was hard to look down at her uncovered body. Korra was aware of some of the bruising and injury that had occurred during her fight with Zaheer, but never had the opportunity to inspect herself. When her mother stripped her, Korra could see the deep purple contusions that mottled her legs. There was one beside her knee, the size of her palm. Near her ankles, she had an exceedingly large scrape, which has now scabbed over. Where her right hip articulated with her leg bone, she had the largest, dappled bruise she had ever seen. And she couldn’t feel _any of them_. She gulped in remembrance.

With Kya’s helped, they dried Korra off completely. Kya was an excellent waterbender, and softly gathered the residual droplets from Korra’s skin in a smooth, twirling motion. She swirled it once, and set it down gently into the draining bath water by twisting her palms downward. Senna and Kya worked together to dress Korra, which Korra felt demoralized by. To get her pants on properly, they had to lift Korra underneath both arms while Korra wedged them up to her waist. The water tribe pants were soft and loose, and having them on made Korra feel much more comfortable. She had to lift her arms in the air for her mother to help her put her shirt on. Her mother had foregone her usual ponytail, as it interfered with her head’s ability to rest properly on the headboard. She remembered Senna’s smile as she put Korra’s hair in wolf tails for her, much like she did when Korra was little. It helped keep the hair out of Korra’s face.

She spent the late morning sitting with her mother while she tried to eat. Nothing was appetizing. Not even her mom’s famous cooking could stir Korra out of her desolation. Once her food had gotten cold, she asked her mother if she could have some time alone. Her mother eventually reluctantly gathered Korra’s uneaten food, and left. Before she made her way out of the room, she leaned over to kiss her daughter on the temple. Korra stared downwards vacantly.

-

“Knock-knock,” Asami said lightly with a smile, resting her palm on Korra’s doorframe.

“Can I come in?”

Korra’s face grimaced.

“Uh, sure.” She said vacuously. Korra’s sour expression contorted as Asami grew closer. Something in Korra’s stomach was jumpy now that Asami was here. Korra thought she must have felt awkward and guilty about Asami confronting her last night, and decided to address it.

“Hey, about last night.” Korra started. “I’m really sorry, and you shouldn’t have to do that for me.” Korra spat sharply. There was an underlying sheepishness to her tone.

“Korra …” Asami’s eyes narrowed in sympathy. Her voice poured out of her perfect lips like music.

“No, Asami! I don’t expect you to jump out of bed every time I have a pathetic little nightmare. It’s embarrassing.” Korra snapped. Asami’s eyes widened, looking very fearful. Korra thought for a second that she was too harsh, but stood by her outburst.

Asami’s eyes widened, and a lump rose in her throat. Asami had made Korra uncomfortable. That had never been her intention. She swallowed, and tried to shake herself out of it.

“Hey.” Asami intertwined her hand with Korra’s limp one. The sensation was familiar to Korra, it was nice. Other than the stupid flop of her stomach when Asami touched her. Asami’s hands were cool and soothing. Her dainty nails carefully evaded Korra’s flesh, wrapping Korra’s hand in a tight grip. Asami’s voice turned into honey.

“You’re not embarrassing, Korra. What you went through was intensely traumatic, and I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I’m here to support you however you need me.” She smiled up at Korra with kind, and sympathetic eyes.

“It’s not that you made me uncomfortable!” Korra blurted awkwardly.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I misinterpreted.” Korra saw Asami’s expression soften.

“That wasn’t it. I just—I hate the thought of you having to treat me like a child. Like, I don’t have the ability to calm myself down. It’s awful, and I hate it!” Korra’s voice rose throughout her monologue to a sharp exclamation. She breathed out dejectedly.

“Look, Korra.” Asami stared into her eyes. “I didn’t mind being woken up. I’m worried about you whether I’m in the room or not, trust me. It’s… I know you feel helpless. In a way, I do too. I know you have to go through this, but it’s torturous to see you going through so much pain and being unable to do anything about it. The ability to do something, _anything_ for you feels… um, important?” Asami paused quizzically, looking up as if searching for a word. She put her outstretched index finger to her chin. A soft blush appeared on her cheeks when her green eyes met Korra’s again with new insight. She took a breath.

“No. That’s the wrong word. I would do anything for you, and… Honestly Korra, being able to help you is helping me too.”

Korra’s frustration melted. In that moment, Korra knew she had been being indignant. Her brows, previously furrowed, relaxed into a soft slant. Her eyes dropped, and Korra uncrossed her arms. Her hands fell, folded in her lap in front of her.

“I guess I didn’t think about it that way.” She spoke towards her blankets guiltily.

“You know I love you, don’t you?” Asami chirped, smiling gorgeously at her. Korra froze. If she had been drinking water, she would have spat it. She felt like her eyes might pop out of her head. She logically knew that Asami was speaking platonically, but her body and emotions lacked the sophistication to decipher context clues. Hearing Asami say that she loved her was like feeling the sun shine on her for the first time in weeks. Her heart started doing backflips, pounding her blood around her system with renewed vigor. She was blushing furiously, but hid it well by keeping her head downwards. Under her veil of thick brown hair, she could feel how hot her cheeks were.

“ _Damn it_.” Korra chided herself in her mind. “ _And the ear thing again!_ ” Thank spirits she had her hair down.

“ _Ugh, why am I such a loser?”_ She thought to herself. Her mind frantically caught up to remembering that she was very much in a conversation with Asami and she mentally slapped herself. Her curly, impish grin was undeniably plastered on her face. She let it stay.

“I do, really. Thanks, Asami.” Korra smiled at her.

“So then you’ll know that I’m not going to let you freak out in your sleep, if I can help it. Got it?”

Korra rolled her eyes.

“Ay-ay.” Korra grinned, and moved her arms like she had when Asami was teaching her how to drive, as if taking a command from an admiral. They both laughed for the first time in a while.

-

She made her smile! Asami’s entire face lit up. Her affect was suspiciously sunny as she danced down the hallway, and away from Korra’s room. Korra hadn’t smiled in weeks and she has been the one to break it! “ _Oh, what a rush_.” She thought to herself. She felt a renewed vigor felt coursing through her veins. As if there was champagne running through her blood vessels, she cheered silently, her first pumping in proud excitement. Before she passed the opening to the staircase that led to the lower floor, Kya emerged. She spotted Asami, and waved politely.

Asami tried to keep her composure, but couldn’t stop smiling. Kya was headed in her direction. It struck Asami how beautiful, and laid back Kya was. Kya’s eyes were striking. They reminded her of Korra’s in that way; it was hard to look away from them.

“Hey Kya! How’re you doing?” asked Asami.

“I’m well, thank you for asking. Just on my way to check in Korra.” Kya mused. Registering the undeniable expression on Asami’s face, Kya raised an eyebrow.

“My, my. You’re certainly in good spirits.” She commented with an earnest smile.

“Um, yes!” Asami chirped back brightly. “You could say that I am.” Asami blushed, thinking about her small win.

“Well, share the news! What’s got you so sprightly?” A glint of smugness glinted in Kya’s eyes.

“Oh, well, it’s nothing really. I—,” Asami paused, smiling down at her feet. “I made Korra smile. It’s just so great to see that again.”

“Heh.” She responded, intrigued by what Asami had revealed. “That’ll have been the first time in weeks. Good job, kid.” Kya feigned punching Asami on the arm, in a light kudos.

“Thanks Kya.”

“You’re welcome, Asami.” Their interaction was evidently over, and they each started walking separate ways. As Kya walked away, Asami couldn’t help but notice a knowing look in the woman’s eyes.

-

Asami felt she was on duty for the next week. The next night, she noticed herself brushing her hair before she got into bed. She was straightening with her robe, and fidgeting with her nightgown. Part of her wanted to look presentable if Korra called for her. Which, of course, was ridiculous. Especially considering the night before, where Korra had literally sweat all over her.

Asami wasn’t entirely in the mood to listen to reason. She paced in her room, unable to unfurl the knot in her stomach. She presumed she was nervous to go to bed, because she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to hear Korra if she needed her. But there was some other reason she was nervous, and it was a positive kind of nervous. Part of her was really hoping Korra would need her help.

“ _I’m just being a good friend, is all_.” Asami mused to herself. “ _Making sure she’s okay_.”

Another part of herself thought that was rich, but Asami ignored that line of thinking. She bit her lip nervously.

“ _I suppose I should try to lie down._ ” Asami padded over to her bed, and sat down without undoing the covers. Instead of lying her head to rest, she turned towards the window on looking the water tribe. The sky was always so beautiful here. She wondered if Korra loved that about it, too.

After a good hour of staring at the twinkling stars, Asami decided she should at least _try_ to sleep. She pulled back the tawny brown covers on her bed, and tried to make herself comfortable. For a few hours, she stared at the ceiling, pondering a design for a flying mecha-tank.

Her dreams started seamlessly.

In her dream, she saw Korra. Hair down, wild and laughing. Korra’s white grin spilled so far across her face, she thought her face may crack in half. They were chasing one another, in a Republic City park. Korra was gaining on her, but Asami had a trick up her sleeve. Asami delicately whipped around a tree, causing Korra to have to stop her momentum. Using that same tree to swivel around with her arm, Korra redirected. Grace was not Korra’s strong suit, and Asami knew that. For falling into her little trap, Asami giggled at her. This caused Korra to laugh determinedly, and say,

“You’re not getting away this time, Sato!” She yelled playfully.

“Eeeeek!” Asami shrieked gleefully. She dug her boots into the grass, full speed ahead, losing momentum as she laughed. Suddenly, she heard a tunnel of wind. Looking backwards, she could see Korra gaining on her, using her airbending.

“Hey!” She yelled backwards. “That’s not faaaaaaaaair-uh!” She suddenly felt Korra’s dense frame hit her middle abdomen. Korra hit Asami at full dive, Korra’s shoulder being the first thing to contact her stomach, just above Asami’s hipbone. Korra’s arms wrapped around her, and suddenly Asami was being spun in a tunnel of wind. At that point, Korra stopped airbending and they tumbled to the ground, using one another to brace for impact. They hadn’t fallen far, but the momentum caused them to roll across the grass. One of the citizens, peacefully eating an apple, yelped and sprinted fearfully out of the way. Korra and Asami nearly missed him by an inch. Once their momentum stopped, they both laughed. Asami sputtered as grass pieces came out of her mouth.

“Cheater!” - _pthew_ \- she spat out more grass. “I never said you could use bending!” She chided playfully, lying on her back. Asami could barely see Korra, the world was spinning in front of her eyes so much.

Korra smirked, cupping her chin in her hands. Her elbows rested beside Asami’s ribcage.

“You never said I _couldn’t_.” Korra grinned.

“Okay.” Asami smiled. “I’ll give you that.” They both laughed.

“You doing alright?” Korra asked innocently. “You look kinda…”

“Sick?” Asami finished for her. “All of that turbulence kind of stirred up my lunch.” Asami gulped. “You’d make a terrible pilot.” She said nauseously, closing her eyes.

“Du-uh, that’s why I keep you around.” Korra teased, rolling her eyes playfully. She matched the eye roll to her index finger’s motion, which did a singular loop around. “And, you know, for this of course.” Korra smiled slyly at Asami, who had just opened her eyes. Korra was perched above Asami’s face, giving her a look. Asami had never seen Korra make that face before, and it made her even dizzier. Somehow, this time dizzy was good?

“Asami!” Korra stood upwards, no longer looking at Asami affectionately. It was frantic and sudden, her expression turning fearful. Korra’s gaze was fixated on something far away from them both, a black dot in the sky. Slowly, the black dot revealed itself to be something long and black. Before Asami could back away, Korra was being pulled away from her by dark spirit vines. Asami was still dizzy. She tried to sit up, but was unsuccessful. She was powerless to keep Korra from being dragged away from her.

“ASAMI!” Dream Korra screamed, being dragged backwards violently. Korra’s face was in terror, eyes and mouth as wide open as she had ever seen them. She was clawing at the vines, trying to get back to Asami. Asami managed to stand, and started to run after her.

“ASAMIIIII!” Asami woke with a start, back in her reality. She could hear Korra in the other room, yelling her name. She dashed out of bed, grabbing the candle at her bedside for better light as she navigated the dark hallway. At the entrance to Korra’s room, her body made a swift turn, and she ran in. Setting the candle down quickly on her way over, she assessed Korra.

She had been sweating again, poor thing. Asami’s eyes traced Korra’s prominent collar bone, which was glistening in the candlelight. Her face was evidently pained. Korra’s eyes were squeezed shut, her lips curled inwards.

“ASAMI!” Korra screamed, creating mild tinnitus in Asami’s ears. “ _Okay, ow.”_ Asami winced.

Asami gripped one of Korra’s hands, and clutched it into her chest. She put her other hand on Korra’s face, and traced her thumb over her round cheekbone.

“Korra, I’m right here!” Asami said to her, squeezing Korra’s fist lightly. “Wake up. It’s okay! I’m here.” The concern was evident in Asami’s voice, but she has always done a good job at keeping cool under pressure. Thus, her voice remained steady.

“A—Asa—” Korra’s voice had deescalated to a normal volume.

“Korra I’m here. You can wake up, now. It’s going to be okay.” Korra mumbled something under her breath as her eyes darted open.

“Agh!” Korra inhaled, understandably disoriented.

“Hey, Korra, it’s okay.” Asami soothed quickly, continuing to rub Korra’s cheek. “It’s just me. You were dreaming.” Asami spoke softly, calming Korra’s evident nerves.

“Asami?” Korra breathed wearily.

“The one and only.” Asami smiled down at her friend’s exhausted expression with tender eyes.

“You’re okay.” Korra mumbled absently. Korra closed her eyes again, and took a deep, slow breath. Then another. And another.

“I am.” Asami smiled warmly. “And so are you. You were having a nightmare.”

“Ah— okay.” Korra exhaled, and paused before continuing nervously. “How could you tell?” Korra looked away from Asami.

“You might’ve woken the neighbors, had I not come to wake you.” Asami told her as sympathetically as she could.

“Spirits.” Korra took the free hand that she had, and used it to wipe her forehead. She seemed to notice Asami’s lingering hand running over her very wet cheek.

“Sorry,” She blushed. “Kinda sweaty.”

“Don’t be silly, Korra.” Asami said seriously. Her eyes grew concerned.

“Are you okay?” Asami asked, watching Korra stare at the ceiling.

“Yeah. Better now.” She said briefly, her eyes fixated on nothing in particular.

“Good. What were you dreaming about?” Asami inquired.

“Ah, well—” Korra stammered, “Um, you were there.”

“I heard.” Asami said knowingly.

“You _heard_?” Korra panicked. Asami tried to pick her words carefully, noting Korra’s expression.

“You, er—talk, in your sleep.” Asami felt the heat rise from Korra’s neck as Korra’s cheeks reddened.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” She comforted. “Tell me more about your dream.” Korra looked downwards.

“Yeah, okay.” She agreed. Asami removed her hand from Korra’s face, now that Korra was more awake. It felt very intimate, and she was worried Korra would notice that. Korra’s eyes followed the removal of her hand, but Korra didn’t say anything about it. Asami wiped the sweat that covered her palm on her robe, and replaced it on top of Korra’s. Now, Asami was holding Korra’s frightened hand with both of hers, and she sat patiently to listen intently to Korra’s dream.

“Er, well. There was this giant spirit we were fighting.”

“Mmhm.”

“But it was silver, or, er, platinum.” Korra seemed nervous. Her eyes shifted over to Asami, who was holding her patiently. This seemed to relax Korra a bit.

“Yeah? Take your time,” Asami spoke calmly.

“Then the spirit, he split. And it turned into chains. It chained me up— like, the way I was chained up in that cave.” Asami’s eyebrows moved together concernedly, and she frowned.

“And the other half grabbed hold of you, and there was nothing I could do about it.” Korra said disappointedly. “It started to take you away somewhere, and then—well, then I woke up.” She finished timidly. Asami paused before speaking.

“Well, I’m alright. It was just a bad dream.” Asami calmed. Korra seemed far away. She couldn’t meet Asami’s eyes, even in the dark. There was a pregnant pause.

“What if I can’t get ever any proper sleep, Asami?” Korra said quietly, her voice straining. “It’s been like this every night.”

“You will! You’ll see. These things take time.” Asami assured her, but Korra didn’t seem convinced.

“Hey,” Asami changed the subject. “I had a dream about you, too.”

“Really? You did? What about?” Korra’s cheeks burned. Asami laughed.

“You were cheating.” Asami said matter-of-factly.

“As if! At what?” Korra said crossly.

“A race, I guess.” Asami laughed at Korra’s sudden irritability. 

“Puh-lease, I’d outrun you any day.” Korra was defensive, but a hint of gaiety crept in her shaky voice. Then she realized what she had said, and looked down at her legs.

“I’ll hold you to that. When you start walking again, it is so _on_.” Asami challenged. Korra was quiet for a moment, but she smiled.

“Asami?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for making me feel normal again.”

They sat like that for a while, just breathing. Korra looked tired, and Asami noticed.

“I’m going to let you try to get some sleep.” Asami told Korra, letting go of her hand.

“Yeah, Okay. I guess that’s a good idea.” Korra stumbled awkwardly upon the removal of physical contact. Asami stood, and made her way towards the door. Before she left, she turned back to Korra.

“If you need anything, just holler.” Asami winked back at her, evidently teasing her about Korra’s shouting. “You know where I am.”

Korra laughed, and the sound twinkled in Asami’s head.

-

The next night was different, but the same. This time, Asami couldn’t fall asleep. She was too worried about Korra. The past few nights, she imagined Korra had been struggling through nightmares before Asami reached her room. At a critical point, she would cry out. But Asami worried that allowing Korra to reach that critical point was weighing too harshly on Korra’s ability to get any rest. It had characteristically been early morning when Korra would wake Asami up. That left Korra maybe two, or three hours until sunrise? If she even managed to sleep that long, which she hadn’t been the past few days. Asami paced in her room, as she often did when there was a problem she was pondering the solution to.

She had donned a pair of water tribe pants and a cover-shawl to sleep in tonight, that were provided to her by Senna. She felt much warmer than she had before, and was extremely appreciative of Senna for extending so much hospitality to her. Senna’s clothing smelled suspiciously like Korra. There was an earthy, deep tone to Senna’s clothing that the Avatar’s scent lacked. Asami’s cheeks reddened in recognition of the intricate depth she had memorized Korra’s smell. She had done this subconsciously, and something about that felt very intimate.

Asami looked in the mirror. When she did, she saw the same black hair, tied back as it always was before she slept. Two curls escaped her ponytail, framing her delicate face in twists of darkness. The muted brown and blue colours of the water tribe clothing were a striking contrast to her ebony curls. She smiled at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t her best look, but it was fun to adopt a look more similar to the people she was staying with. She felt like less of an outsider. It dawned on her that Korra probably wore these kind of garments growing up. Asami crossed her arms, and hugged the heavy fabric that covered them lightly. The thought of enveloping herself in Korra’s culture, and past left a residual smile on her face.

She felt a rush as she remembered Korra blushing when Asami had a hand on her face. That was too adorable. Korra could be so easily embarrassed; it was so sweet that it made Asami’s heart twinge.

Korra. Her brain returned to her dilemma. If Korra wasn’t sleeping, she wouldn’t have any energy to motivate herself. Korra hadn’t gone to see Katara yet. They hadn’t talked about why that was, but Asami knew it was because Korra wasn’t ready yet. She was hardly able to move independently, and Asami was sure Korra wasn’t in the mood to push herself quite yet. She knew Korra felt defeated, and it would take more than a minute for Korra to feel well enough to try.

“ _So what are my options_?” Asami thought quizzically.

Well, first, she could just wait until Korra called out in her sleep again. Two issues with that: First, Asami could hardly lie still, let alone sleep, she was so frantically worried about Korra. Second, when she came to see Korra while she was having a nightmare, it seemed to be too little too late. Korra was losing out on any genuine rest. Overall, not a great solution.

“ _Alright,_ ” she thought. “ _Other options_?”

Asami could wait outside Korra’s room. It would make hearing Korra struggle easier. At the same time, she would possibly be imposing herself on a boundary Korra didn’t know she needed to set. It seemed a little unsettling for her to just wait for Korra to need her. If anyone walked past, they might accuse her of acting strangely. Everyone had so warmly welcomed her here that she wouldn’t want to make a bad impression. Like she was spying on Korra, or obsessed with her or something. She considered that thinking this deeply about her situation with Korra right now was borderline obsessive. She chased that thought away with a wave of her slender fingers.

Alternatively, she could stay directly in Korra’s room at night. She remembered that she had considered this the first night, but decided against it for Korra’s comfortability. She wouldn’t want to do that without Korra’s permission. Again, if Korra woke up to Asami sitting peacefully with Naga, she might feel as though her privacy had been violated. From the small amount Asami knew, she felt Korra already felt violated enough without her friend staking out her room, unbeknownst to her.

A third option came to her mind, and Asami perked up. Her thoughtful expression melted into one of satisfaction with herself. She could go and periodically check on Korra. She wouldn’t feel too involved that way, and she didn’t see herself feeling uncomfortable explaining that to anyone else given the happenings of the nights before, including Korra.

Every thirty minutes. That would be her time frame. Asami considered keeping a log of Korra’s sleep quality to refer back to for timing purposes throughout the week, but felt that was a bit too far. She again found herself filing her nails, and twisting her hair now that she knew she was going to see Korra. She thought that being around Korra more often would make her feel less anxious, but lately Asami felt hyper aware of how she looked around Korra. She wanted to feel as beautiful as she could be, which was ridiculous. Korra didn’t care how she looked! But Asami cared, for some reason.

A pit formed in her stomach that she recognized. There was something she wasn’t admitting to herself. She wasn’t sure what that was yet. Her train of thought was derailed by the reminder that she was going to go check on Korra. Asami opened and closed the door to her room gently. She was far more relaxed on her way to Korra’s room than the previous days. Funny how that worked. It was almost like when she didn’t feel her friend was in immediate peril, she was more relaxed. She smiled at her own private joke.

She slowed nearing Korra’s room, quietening her footsteps. The water tribe garb made it more challenging to keep silent, her pant legs brushing against one another. She gently reached for the door handle, attempting to make the least noise possible. Slowly, she poked her head into the space created by the slowly opening door. As yellow light spilled into the room, it illuminated the small body on the bed in the corner of the room. Asami’s heart grew another size seeing Korra lying still, covers resting just below her chest.

Asami walked over. Korra was lying on her back. She had to, considering her spine being in the state that it was. She wore a faded white tank top, her chest unrestricted by bindings as it normally was for fighting, and day appearances. There was a shapely softness in that region that Asami tried to direct her eyes away from. She noticed her own hands vibrating slightly.

She inspected Korra’s eyes. She looked generally at peace, and Asami felt silly for coming in. Was this a violation of Korra’s privacy? Asami began to retreat carefully.

That’s when she noticed Korra grunt in her sleep. It came out of nowhere, and made Asami pause. In anticipation, Asami held her breath, listening intently for Korra’s state of emotion. If she relaxed, Asami would come back later. Unfortunately for Korra, that wasn’t the case. Asami spun around upon hearing Korra’s increasing breath rate. Korra’s breaths began to pitch higher, until she was noticeably hyperventilating.

“Agh!” Korra yelped softly, the clarity of her speech impeded by a layer of unconsciousness.

Asami rushed over, sobering worry splashed over her face. Her heart broke as she noticed tears spilling over Korra’s cheeks on either side, towards her ears. Asami winced. She sat down, legs hanging off of the side of the bed, pointing herself towards Korra. She started by cupping Korra’s face in her hands, and stroking the tears away with her thumbs in one fluid motion. Korra jerked at Asami’s touch, but relaxed into it.

“Korra.” She said worriedly. Korra stirred, but was still locked in a dream. Korra’s brows were arched, and pulled closer together than she had ever seen them. She looked like she was in pain. Asami could feel Korra’s erratic breathing, and was concerned by the way her chest rose and fell dramatically.

“Korra.” Asami repeated, her voice a smooth cocktail of equal parts concern and honey.

Korra woke out of her slumber more easily than usual. It surprised Asami, who blushed, realizing she was still cradling Korra’s face. Thank spirits it was dark. She removed her hands quickly, hoping Korra didn’t feel the gesture was too intimate. Korra brought her arms up, to rub her eyes with outstretched palms. She pulled her face downwards, covering her lips.

“Good morning,” Asami joked.

“Uggggggh.” Korra groaned, closing her eyes in aggravation. She was still groggy, but evidently upset with herself.

“It happened again?! I hardly even slept that time!” Korra grunted in frustration. Asami didn’t know what to say at first.

“It wasn’t as bad as last time.” Asami finally comforted in her cool-toned cadence.

“You mean I didn’t wake up the entire place? Big win.” Korra said sarcastically, huffing her breath afterwards.

“Hey.” Asami grabbed her hand. “Little wins _are_ wins.” Asami injected as much compassion into her expression as she could. Asami’s lips rested in a tentative smile. With her lifted brows, her face looked softer than it normally did. Her eyelids dropped to the point that Asami’s vision of Korra was obstructed by her thick, dark, lashes. When they made eye contact, Korra quickly looked away.

Korra sighed.

“You’re right, I guess.”

“Your measure of a win before now has been manipulating the fate of the world in your favor. You’re going to need time to adjust to winning on a smaller scale.” Asami tried to keep the conversation topical, but lighthearted. Korra didn’t respond. Asami recognized that she may have upset Korra by reminding her of her inability to help others.

“Sorry,” Asami said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to bring up your avatar duties.”

“No,” Korra said eventually, her tone softening. “It’s okay. I can’t run away from thinking about it. Trust me, if I could, I would.” She gulped quietly.

“Do you want to talk about what you were dreaming about?” Asami asked. Korra looked uncomfortable at the question.

“Erm, honestly? No. I’d rather not. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I’d just like to try and forget.” Korra spoke more normally.

“I can understand that.” Asami sympathized. Her slender thumb traced absentminded circles on Korra’s hand. “Can I sit with you for a little while longer? I don’t want you jumping right back into that dream.”

“‘Course you can.” Korra said weakly. They sat there for a minute, their hands interlocked. She attempted to infuse Korra with as much strength and comfort as she could through the steady grip of their interlocked hands. A minute went by as they sat in silence. Korra, as always, was the first one to break it.

“Asami?” Korra queried unsurely. At first, Korra stared forward. With a stern inward breath, Korra’s innocent eyes locked on Asami’s. Asami was grateful for that connection, Korra had hardly had the spirit to lock eyes with anyone. After a brief moment, Korra averted her gaze, looking forward hesitantly.

“What is it, Korra?” Asami tried to sound as open as she could. She wanted to make Korra feel as if asking for what she needed wasn’t a big deal, if that’s what she was in fact asking. Asami was relieved, actually. She was worried Korra would never let her guard down enough, and be unwilling to accept help.

“Could you maybe—lie down with me this time?” Korra’s words tumbled out slowly. She was nervous to ask.

Asami was startled by Korra’s request. Her eyes widened excitedly. She tried not to seem too excited, as she calculated her response. Korra beat her to speaking.

“It’s just, it’s really weird for me to always have to be lying down, and having everyone look down at me. Maybe if you were beside me I would feel…”

“More normal?”

“Yeah.” Korra smiled sheepishly.

“Let’s do that.” Asami was on board. She crawled up next to Korra, lying overtop the sheets. Asami’s hands folded on her stomach, and she lied with her head on the bed. There was only one pillow in the middle of the bed, and Korra was using it. Asami didn’t mind. She rested her head on the mattress and crossed her ankles. Korra smelled like strength, and softly ripened peaches and pears, and a hint of sweat. Asami’s eyes were sparkling. Though they weren’t touching, Asami could feel the heat emanating from Korra through the layer of blankets, and she laughed audibly.

“What?” Korra said anxiously.

“It’s really nothing.” Asami dismissed her, smirking all the while.

“You’re freaking me out!” Korra said exasperatedly.

“You’re just warm, is all. I can feel it from here.” She heard Korra’s breathing hitch.

“Oh, um…sorry about that.” Korra mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

“No! Korra, it’s nice, actually. Everything here is so damn cold all of the time. No one has seen any of the clothes I brought because they’re covered up by the layers Senna lent me.” She laughed.

“My mom gave you clothes? I was wondering how you got your hands on those.” Korra speculated aloud. “Not your best look.” Korra teased.

“Your family’s been really wonderful to me.” Asami responded brightly, attempting to conceal her nerves. It was as if every nerve ending in her body were on high alert. Asami tried her hardest to breathe normally, and not over-inhale Korra’s scent. She pretended she didn’t want to bury her face in Korra’s hair, and let the smell envelop her. She resisted the natural urge to turn towards Korra, and nuzzle into her chest.

“That’s good to hear.” Korra chuckled “They’re good people.”

“It’s nice of Kya to stay, too.” Asami added.

“Yeah.” Korra said solemnly. “I feel so guilty having everyone stay here with me. They have their own lives.”

“But they _wouldn’t_ , if it hadn’t been for you.” Asami’s comment was sobering for Korra. “If Zaheer had accomplished what he had intended to, they would all be fighting chaos right now. There wouldn’t be a day of peace for them. I’m not going to let you forget how much you sacrificed for them.”

Korra was quiet. It was so weird to see her like this. Korra was never quiet. 

“So I stopped one guy? Big whoop. Sometimes I feel like I’m the worst Avatar.” Korra said humourlessly. “The Avatars before me was so feared, so powerful. I can hardly get one _city_ to listen to me.” She groaned. She was referring to President Raiko in republic city, of course. “Not to mention I lost the connection to the past avatars! _And_ , oh yeah! Now I can’t even _move!_ ”

“Korra,” Asami winced at Korra’s negative self-talk. She understood why Korra was upset, but it pained Asami to see Korra in such a dark place.

“I don’t think that’s fair at all.” Asami said softly, turning towards Korra. She saw a tear rolling down Korra’s cheek. Korra was barely keeping it together.

Asami propped herself up on her elbow to look Korra in the eye.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Asami put her hand on Korra’s shoulder. “I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through. And I—I guess it’s hard for me to understand where you’re coming from.” Asami stammered that last part out, and Korra wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“You’re just so wonderful.” Asami breathed, inspiration laden in her voice. “These past few years, you have sacrificed _so_ _much_ of yourself doing _incredible_ things, for so many people! Even without your connection to the past Avatars to guide you, you’ve managed to make _impossible_ decisions with clarity, wisdom, empathy, and selflessness.” Korra kept looking upwards, tears welling in her eyes, clenching her teeth together.

“Korra… You’re looking at yourself as if the great things you’ve done are all you’re ever going to do. And you compare these past few years of progress you’ve made, with people who had entire lifetimes to prove themselves. You’re still a person, and it doesn’t do you justice to compare yourself to a highlight reel. You’re brilliant, Korra, and the state of your mobility doesn’t change that. Kya said it, you’re going to get better. You have to believe in that, too.”

Korra heard a choking sob come from Korra. Her chest tightened immediately, and she immediately regretted what she had said. She didn’t intend to make Korra cry. That was the opposite reason she was there. A terrible feeling sent panic throughout her body.

“Korra, I didn’t mean to—”

“ _No, it’s okay_.” Korra spoke hoarsely through her tears, her voice thick. Korra sniffled, and wiped the drainage away with her arm.

“Asami,” Korra’s voice broke with emotion at finishing her name. It was the saddest, and sweetest sound she had ever heard. Her eyes met Asami’s. They were intensely blue, and even more beautiful than they were that. The redness from her tears caused the colour of her eyes to seem stronger than Asami thought possible. Asami looked back at her, her gaze pouring with emotion for Korra. She could feel her lower lip quiver.

“ _Anything._ ” Asami thought to herself.

Korra looked like she was about to speak, but instead started to cry. Asami quickly wrapped her arms around Korra, resting her head on Korra’s chest and held her as she cried. There were so many feelings and thoughts running through Asami’s head. A piercing sadness, seeing Korra so unable to hold it together. A protective side of Asami, fiercely tender, wanted to hold Korra until all of her sadness melted away. Part of Asami was having a hard time keeping it together, too. Asami felt tears building, and eventually let them fall onto Korra’s shoulder.

They were both weary, and tired. The past few days had been hard on them both, and for a while they sat there and cried together. Asami reveled in Korra’s warmth. Korra was like her own personal fire, blitzing out body heat in alarming volumes. Asami’s fingers had been cold all day, and she welcomed every bit of it. Korra’s steady breathing noises were calming.

An hour passed, and a calm had settled over the pair of friends. Asami’s eyes were getting droopy, and she knew she was going to fall asleep. The emotional outburst had drained her considerably. She didn’t feel as though Korra wanted her to move, nor did she have the energy for that.

“If you tell anyone I cried, you’re dead.” Korra muttered sleepily, matching Asami’s exhaustion.

“Deal.” Asami mumbled, lips crushed into Korra’s chest.

They fell into sleep that day as easily as they were falling in love.


	4. Girl's Night

Korra awoke suspiciously comfortably, and more surprisingly than that, well-rested. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, and she could feel the warmth of a sunbeam on her face. Korra smiled, and went to stretch her arm. Her brain caught up with the sensations of her body and she realized that Asami was lying on her chest. She lifted herself up onto her elbows abruptly, face contorted with embarrassment and stress.

“A-Ah-AH _-SAMI_!” Korra sputtered gracelessly. Her voice cracked in embarrassment. Korra was blushing hotter—and more furiously—than she had ever blushed before. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest to the point where she could hear it rushing in her ears. She was now acutely aware of the tiny drool spot where Asami’s lips had rested on her breast.

Korra’s abrupt movement woke Asami, leaving her head to fall from Korra’s chest, onto the bed with a quiet _thump_.

“Korra?” Asami’s dainty voice said confusedly, her morning voice a low and groggy rumble. Korra’s throat felt thick. She didn’t have an Adam’s apple, so why did she feel like the lump in her throat wouldn’t go away!

“ _Brain on fire. Brain on fire. AH. Asami. What. WHEN? Dreaming? No. Real, here. So. Beautiful. Cloves, spices, sweet. Hair, glossy. Bah. Hair. Asami. On. Chest. Asami, her. Her, Asami. Sleeping?”_ Her brain continued to race until Asami’s gorgeous inflection registered in her eardrums.

“Korra?” Asami supported herself on her stomach, hands folded beneath her. She lifted her head.

“Hey.” Asami smiled up at her. Her hair’s perfect, river-like waves—normally polished and prim—were dishevelled. Asami’s hair parted in the middle uncharacteristically, and it tumbled over her shoulders in flourishing cascades. As Korra’s eyes trailed the torrents of Asami’s messy hair, her chest tightened like it may explode. Korra was so distracted. She was trying to catch her breath, very unsuccessfully. She knew she had dreamt about this before, but it seemed that this was _real_. One of her hands instinctively reached to that back of her neck, and to her dismay it was burning. Her cheeks must be so red. WHY was she so embarrassing?

But, it was Asami that chose not to leave her room. It’s not like Korra begged her to cuddle her all night. Remembering the state she was in last night, she retracted that thought. She didn’t beg her to stay, in so many words. Her emotional state might have sent a different memo. But friends had sleepovers? Like, when one friend gets broken up with? Friends shared beds, she convinced herself. If Korra didn’t know better, she would guess her wishful thinking had come true. Wouldn’t it be wild if Asami reciprocated the feelings she’d been having?

Korra had been having… _thoughts_. The kind of thoughts that make her feel guilty when she had them about her friends. She felt this way about Mako, until Pema told her to profess her feelings to him. And look how well _that_ went. Korra had always wondered if she had been into girls. She often found herself checking out girls as often as she checked out guys. Until she dated Mako, she realized that that may not have been entirely typical. With everything that had happened in the past few years, the exploration of her sexuality hadn’t exactly been a priority. Besides, deviating from the norm in the public eye would leave her open to more criticism than she had already garnered. So, Korra had been keeping these feelings to herself. But now, there were so many things going on, and she was confused, and scared.

“We must have fallen asleep.” Asami murmured, rubbing her eyes.

Korra cleared her throat.

“Um, yeah.” Her voice was performatively masculine, dropping octaves lower. Korra couldn’t control that. She was nervous. “I, uh, noticed that.”

“Well,” Asami turned over, eyes still closed. “Good morning, then.” Asami laughed casually. Her nonchalant attitude was helping Korra feel less strange about the whole situation.

“Korra! Are you awake?” Kya’s voice chimed at the door. “Is it okay if I come in?” Korra looked over at Asami, who bolted upright as if sprinting into the appearance of propriety.

“Uh, sure!” Korra said, flustered. She tried to straighten herself up as much as possible, so Kya wouldn’t think there was anything suspicious going on. Which, she needed to be clear with herself, there _wasn’t_. Many people had told Korra before that she jumped to conclusions too quickly, and she was firm in that she wouldn’t in this situation. Kya burst through the door. In her arms, a folded pile of fresh clothes for Korra. When Kya registered Asami’s presence, her face did not change.

“Morning indeed!” Her lips rested in a soft smile. “Hello Asami, good to see you. Had a sleepover, did you?” She was talking to them both.

“It seems that way.” Asami yawned, and stretched her arms outwards. Her small firsts curled as she held the stretch, before letting the tension recede.

Just when Korra thought her blush had receded, it was back at full force.

“I’d expect Senna soon, Korra. She’s just collecting some things for your bath.”

“Great.” Korra’s voice was grateful, but the spirit injected tone had faltered upon hearing about her daily duties.

“Well, I think that’s my queue.” Asami stood, the water tribe clothes she wore crumpled, and uneven. As grateful as Korra was that Asami had stayed, Korra was glad Asami was leaving. She needed a chance to process their night together. Also, Korra didn’t want Asami to have to see her go through the bathing process. Two people seeing her in excruciating embarrassment was plenty enough for Korra.

With a sunny, sleepy wave, Asami walked out of the room. Korra didn’t want to meet Kya’s eyes in fear that Kya would see straight through her blatant attempt to hide her crush. To her relief, Kya maintained her smiling eyes. No hint of judgement, or even acknowledgement of what she had just walked in on, was present on her face.

“I’m going to start running your bath here.” Kya smiled at Korra. “But before I do, do you want help sitting up?” Korra did want help.

“Thanks, that’d be great.” Korra said softly. Kya walked over carefully, and sat on the bed with a gentle grace that surprised Korra. Korra thought she saw Kya’s eyes linger on the spot of drool Asami had left on Korra’s shirt, but Korra reduced the thought to her own paranoia.

“How’s your pain?” Kya asked compassionately, placing her arm under Korra’s shoulder. Her hand extended, and grabbed Korra’s waist around her hip bone. Kya wasn’t large, but she was strong, and Korra’s upper body felt supported.

“Not great.” Korra grunted in anticipation of the sitting movement upward.

“Ready?” Kya asked, looking at Korra’s pained expression. Korra took a breath in, and her steely determination took its rightful place. Korra wrapped the arm over Kya’s shoulder around where Kya’s neck met her shoulder. She positioned the arm on the other side of her to push upwards.

‘Ready.” Korra said. It hurt to move like this, but through the entire motion, Korra only winced. She tried her hardest not to cry out, and closed her eyes tightly until she felt her back hit the headboard. She took a deep breath, feeling the pain subside in her resting place.

“Great job, Korra.” Kya said sympathetically, and turned towards the washroom to run her bath.

The day passed by in agony. Korra couldn’t stop thinking about Asami. The unexpected things were the worst. Like when Kya left the room to run the bath, how Asami’s scent still lingered in the sheets. Every time she inhaled, something lit up Korra’s senses. She would be flashed back to images of fluttering, dark eyelashes. The beautiful concern in Asami’s eyes when she came to check on Korra. Korra couldn’t make eye contact with Asami for too long when she was looking at her like that. It caused her too many of _those_ feelings.

When her mother and Kya helped remove her shirt, she noticed the faint scent of ylang-ylang, licorice and cloves wash over her nose. Those smells disappeared with the removal of the drool-stained shirt. Korra knew she should have thought being drooled on was gross, but she wasn’t grossed out at all. Korra thought it was really cute. She had never really been bothered by saliva. Naga licked her face far too often for that to be a thing.

She was staring at herself in the mirror, after her mother and Kya had left. She was dressed very similarly to how Asami had been dressed the night before. Her water tribe pants were a cool, medium brown. Her blue top, her mother’s, draped delicately over her chest, and tucked itself into her pants. Her mother had provided a fur for Korra’s shoulders to help stay warm.

For the first time in many months, Korra found the time to stare at her reflection. Her mother had always told Korra she was beautiful, and Korra usually replied with an, “ _ew, mooooom_!” Korra didn’t exactly believe her mother at all, until receiving attention from Mako and Bolin. Which, she admitted, was pathetic. And still, even after her relationship with Mako, Korra assumed most of her charm came from her personality and vigor, not her looks. She was hardly striking compared to Asami, whose full-glossy lips and starry eyes made anyone in her path stop dead in their tracks. Asami, whose nose was as dainty and adorable as her twinkling laugh. Asami, whose dark strands of licorice could put a lion-turtle’s mane to shame. Asami, whose brilliance could never be overshadowed by another living entity.

And then there was Korra. Too muscular to be femme, hair too choppy to fawn over. Her lips didn’t scream soft, supple, or pouty, or pretty. Her cheeks were full, rather than high-boned and delicate. Her hands were calloused and rough, not manicured, or slender. Korra felt she was so plain, compared to Asami. Why would a girl like her ever like Korra? Hypothetically, of course. Korra knew Asami didn’t _like-like_ her. Korra knew she was good-looking, in some capacity. But she didn’t usually have time to analyze her physical appearance like this. Too busy saving the world for that. Her eyes were often a vehicle for portraying her wild and goofy expressions, but she had to admit that they were a remarkable bright blue. Korra had dark, short, lashes too, that framed the colour in her eyes. It made her face simultaneously more intimidating, and more feminine. Unlike Asami’s lashes, which were full and wispy from one corner of her eye to the other, Korra’s lashes significantly lengthened near the outer corner of her eye. She admitted to herself that the flare of her outer lash made her eyes very pretty, and gave them an almost cat-like quality. She had been told her eyes were striking before, but it was hard for Korra to take herself that seriously.

Korra felt very guilty for thinking this way. She shouldn’t be thinking about Asami romantically. It wouldn’t be fair to the friendship and kindness Asami had extended to her since her injury. She couldn’t all of the sudden go making her uncomfortable by falling in love with her. If she even was in love. Korra was so confused lately that she was having a hard time interpreting her own emotions. She surely knew that despite her feelings, it wasn’t appropriate for Korra to bring it up right now. Korra knew she was too unsure, too fickle to be confessing love to anyone. She wasn’t even sure that she could make it to the bathroom by herself, or sleep by herself. Dependency was her reality and she thought it might be confusing her emotions as well.

Fear consumed her thoughts most of the time she was alone. Fear that she would never be able to walk again. Fear that she wouldn’t be able to enter the Avatar state if she tried. This struck a chord, deep in Korra’s being. She hadn’t felt Raava’s spiritual presence at all after the attack. She hadn’t tried to go into the Avatar state, and she was too afraid to try, and fail at something else. Korra knew she was latching onto any comfort she was able to experience, and Asami provided that for her. Was that love? Was it fair to Asami to let Korra figure it out along the way? Definitely not. Korra’s emotional state was fragile, and she told herself she wouldn’t drag anyone into it while she was feeling this way.

But still, looking at the unmade bed made her smile.

-

Asami was exhausted. After responding to one of five letters that had already been sent to her about Future Industries, her brain was hurting. She had spent the entire morning outdoors, going to assess a structural problem at one of the gates into the Southern Water Tribe. Tonraq had asked her personally to take a look. Without the functionality of the gate, no one was able to move supplies in or out, and there had been vehicles with food waiting for hours already to pass. It was a quiet walk to the gate. Both her and Tonraq were thinking about Korra. It was really all that they had in common. There was a silent and mutual agreement that they would not talk about her. There wasn’t much to say. Korra was very broken, and neither of them wanted to discuss that in any detail. When they approached the wall, Asami took in her surroundings.

Solid metal frame, structurally sound. That was good.

“Hmmmmph.” Asami murmured.

“So, as you can see, yesterday the gates were opening seamlessly. I believe something’s wrong with the electrical component. We have someone for that, but they’re a three days travel away.”

Asami nodded. She noted there was no rust. The gates seemed well-lubricated, but the hinges were frozen in place. She placed her black-gloved hand onto the metal. The gate didn’t budge. It wasn’t frozen from the cold. No, this was a mechanical seizure.

“Structurally, the metal looks sound. Shouldn’t be a physical barrier.” Asami commented, her eyes lost in thought.

“Where are the gates controlled from?” Tonraq led her over to a small windowed room with an electrical panel overlooking the gate.

“Damned buttons aren’t labelled. I’ve tried pushing every button. It changed nothing.” Asami had her back turned to Tonraq, and frowned at his sentence. That would surely make her job more difficult.

“Let me take a look.” She recognized the panel from studying manuals that people other than her father had written. The circuitry was sloppy work, but she figured she knew enough to get by with the knowledge she had.

“I’m going to try a manual reset.” She chimed.

“Yes, manual reset sounds good,” echoed Tonraq, clearly not following. His blind trust in Asami’s abilities was unspoken, but evident.

Asami’s hands shifted around the board quickly. She twisted two of the clunky, red dials the opposite way. Then, she flicked one of the slender, metal dials into the ‘off’ position, then into the ‘on’ again. Asami inspected the wiring and the positions of the other dials.

“If this doesn’t work, we’ll try the breaker.”

Asami flicked one of the dials “on,” and the half-shut gate opened with a swing. The gate operator stared at her in shock.

“I’ve been trying for hours! How did you…” He trailed off, staring at Asami in awe. She almost said, “kids stuff,” but decided against it to protect his ego.

“I’ve been doing this kind of thing since I was a kid. Once you’ve built one switch board, you’ve kind of seen them all.” Asami said hesitantly, aiming not to boast.

“We could get used to having you around.” Tonraq thanked her with a grateful joke.

After she had returned to her quarters, there was mail waiting for her atop her dresser. She knew being away from Future Industries would be hard on her staff, but the sentiments her high-ranking employees were expressing were alarming.

_“Dear Miss Sato,_

_It is with great displeasure that I must report a failure of the main engine in the production room…”_

Another one.

_“Dear President Sato,_

_The advisory board is unsure how to proceed with integrating the emerging Republic City regulations into the next iteration of Satomobiles…”_

The next letter was less concerning, but required the same urgency.

_“Dear President Sato,_

_We require your consultation and approval on the finalized design for Project X83-J. Please write us back at your earliest convenience…”_

Asami knew that being away from Future Industries would be a challenge. She did not, however, foresee her absence being this big of an obstacle after a mere three days. Asami’s heart sunk. If things continued to worsen, Asami would need to return to Republic City. But how could she leave Korra when she was like this?

She took a deep sigh, and put her pen to work.

It was nearing dark, and Asami was yet again left with the dilemma. More decisively than the night previous, she made up her mind and headed to Korra’s room.

“Korra?” Asami approached the subject cautiously.

“I have a question for you. And before you interject, let me finish, okay?”

“You have the floor.” Korra’s voice lilted charmingly.

“I think I should sleep in here.” Asami blurted. Smooth, Asami. That’s not what she had rehearsed in her head.

Silence. Korra was doing as instructed, her big blue eyes waiting intently on Asami’s next words. Korra staring at her so intently derailed her thoughts for a minute.

“I just figure since I’m in here all the time anyway, and it’s hard for me to hear you from the next room until you are hardly breathing, and if Naga is in here it’s harder to hear over her breathing…” She noticed Korra’s cheeks lift, and she looked into Asami’s eyes. She could have sworn she saw Korra’s eyes narrow with emotion, but didn’t press her about it.

“Just think about it.” Asami blurted. It was a moment before Korra spoke.

“Thank you for being such a good friend to me, Asami. I—I don’t know what I would do right now without you. Seriously.” Korra said very sincerely. “You don’t have to do this—”

“I want to.” Asami beamed. “I think it’ll be good for the both of us. I’m up worrying about you all night anyhow.” She saw Korra blush.

“Really?” Korra’s high-pitched squawk left her body in a rush.

“Well, yeah. Obviously.” Asami rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, looking down at the floor blushingly. Asami had her legs crossed, and was staring down at her black shoes. She anxiously anticipated Korra’s response. Asami’s eyes darted upwards, to see Korra looking frightened. Asami felt, again, like she was overstepping. Korra looked down at her hands, which were idle. She seemed deep in thought, and Asami chose not to interrupt her with the takeback of her offer. So Asami waited, her heart sitting in her throat.

“Then, well,” Korra looked up with a smile in her eyes after what seemed like one thousand seconds. “Okay? It’d probably be good for me. I’m not getting much sleep without you here.”

“Okay!” Asami echoed excitedly. She was impassioned hearing that Korra had agreed. She was flustered, too. Had Korra really not been sleeping without her there? Part of her was immeasurably excited by this news. The dual-edged nature of Korra needing her so badly was the pain that Korra must be going through. Asami frowned at that. It was incredibly dispiriting to hear Korra hadn’t been getting any sleep. She’d known it had been bad, but she didn’t know it had been _that_ bad.

“But, er,” Korra paused. “Where would you sleep?” Korra asked tentatively, looked around the small Water Tribe room, noting that there was hardly room for a cot, or a sofa. She looked up at Asami, whose face had frozen up.

“Oh! Er, well. I thought I would just stay… with you?” She looked up at the last part of her sentence, cheeks burning.

Korra looked as though her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Her mouth was ever so slightly agape. Asami saw her shake her head, her brown lock rustling with the movement. Asami’s heart pounded uncontrollably in her ribcage.

“Uh…yeah!” Korra drew out her sentence awkwardly, trying to sound casual. She gulped. “Of course! That makes sense, because, you know—we’re, friends! And friends do the sleepover thing! In the same bed.” Korra chuckled nervously, pulling at the collar of her water-tribe shirt.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll sleep on the floor.” Asami said easily, with a large smile plastered across her face. She was trying to dampen the very electric air. “It wouldn’t bother me, I mean it.”

“No—Asami!” Korra protested, but Asami was already on her way out of the room.

“Asami!” Korra yelled after her. “Where are you going? Get back here now!” Asami was already halfway to her room. It was an empty threat, anyhow. She scooped up her measly water tribe blanket and sheet, her pillow and all of the extra clothing she had. In a flurry of fabric, she whisked herself back to Korra’s room.

“You are _not_ sleeping on the floor.” Korra told her, deadpan. She didn’t have to look at Korra to know that she was crossing her arms. Her vision was obstructed by the tufts of blanket, and a spare sock. Asami couldn’t see, and she didn’t care to look. That was a lie. She cared to look at Korra’s muscles _all the time_. But in this instance, no. Asami plopped everything down, and got straight to business. She knelt, neatly creating a base on the floor with the sheets. Next, she laid the blankets down, ignoring Korra’s exasperated protests.

-

“Asami, you’re going to freeze!” Korra objected. In any other possible circumstance than paralysis, Korra would force Asami to sleep on the bed. Korra would have slept on the floor in a heartbeat, or on an uncomfortable chair, or whatever. The small matter of her lower body physical paralysis was preventing that at the moment.

“Not listening!” Asami chimed, putting the pillow down on her makeshift sleeping bag. Asami twirled around, outstretching her arms behind her head before lying down.

“See? Comfortable.” Asami smiled up at Korra. It was almost like it was _fun_ for Asami so see Korra so exasperated. Korra was used to having people do what she wanted, when she wanted, just because she said so. Perks of being the Avatar. A devilish glint occupied Asami’s eyes. Her mouth was twisted up into a satisfied smile.

“C’mon Asami! This makes me feel _really_ weird!” Korra groaned, whining.

“Quit it, Korra! I’m fine here, really.” Asami said calmly, propping herself up on her side to look at Korra. Korra pretended not to notice the painfully obvious curve of Asami’s waist and hips.

“Will you please just sleep up here with me?”

Asami wasn’t ready to hear Korra say that. Something about the way Korra said please made Asami want to do whatever Korra asked of her until the ending of time. She would move mountains, fight hundreds, pull the blasted moon out of the sky, _anything_. If Korra looked at her like that one more time with her innocent, blue eyes, Asami’s world might crack open.

“I’m taking your silence as a yes. Come on Sato.” Korra patted the bed. “We’re taking this night on, sleepover style.” Korra’s voice had spirit in it for the first time in weeks, and Asami was thrilled about it.

“What, are we going to paint each other’s nails?” Asami laughed teasingly.

“Maybe!” Korra proposed. “Is that what girls do? Or… am I off-base?” Korra was incredibly unsure, her bright pink blush making her blue eyes stand out.

“No,” Asami laughed. “You’re spot on,” Asami smiled at Korra warmly, trying not to linger on Korra’s beautiful and awkward expression.

“…So? Where’s the polish at?” Asami grinned.

“What? You’re not serious.” Korra said in disbelief. Korra pointed her index finger at Asami, and then back at herself. “We’re going to—”

“Oh yes we are. _Girls night_!” Asami said gleefully, gripping Korra’s hand in hers.

“I was kidding!” Korra stammered. “Where are we even going to get that kind of stuff?”

“ _That kind of stuff_?” Asami mimicked, raising an eyebrow.

“My mom doesn’t exactly do her makeup.” Korra smirked.

“Wait right here,” Asami was back in a minute, with a bag the size of Pabu.

“What’s that?” Korra asked suspiciously.

Asami spilled the contents of the bag in the space between Korra’s legs. Various tubes and tinctures rattled together.

“Korra,” Asami laughed. “It’s makeup. You have seen makeup before…right?” Asami asked incredulously.

“I mean, I’ve seen people _wear_ it,” Korra stammered. “But, between, well, being a toddler, and being locked away in the Avatar compound, and fighting Amon…” Korra started listing events on her fingers, looking up in contemplation.

“It’s okay.” Asami stopped Korra prematurely, speaking in an understanding tone. Sensing Korra’s discomfort and unfamiliarity, she put a hand atop Korra’s.

“I’ll show you how it works.”

“So, this is like lipstick, for your nails?” Korra picked up the red nail polish vial, and inspected it with great suspicion.

“That’s sort of the idea.” Asami laughed easily. Korra looked down, embarrassed.

“Wow, I really don’t know anything about this stuff.” Korra muttered self-consciously.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you, Korra. It’s just amusing that you’ve no familiarity with any of this,” smiled Asami. Korra’s look of slight embarrassment turned to a smile, and she tucked her hair behind her ears with one hand. “I’m having fun,” Asami continued.

“Here. Give me your hand. I’ll show you.” Asami untwisted the cap on the nail polish.

Korra’s nails were short, with rugged edges. Asami took Korra’s outstretched, rough hand in hers, and felt her nerves spike. Asami had practiced keeping her hands steady for years when working with machinery, so her nerves hardly affected her disposition. Korra, on the other hand, was shaking like a leaf.

“So you just—Do I—relax?” Korra stammered. Asami laughed.

“Uh-huh. That’s the idea of girl’s night, Korra. You know, rest and relaxation? Pampering?” Asami smiled absently, preparing the brush to ensure there wasn’t too much nail polish on it for her first stroke.

“I think I understand the concept, but I can’t promise I’ll do it right,” Korra grumbled.

“Well, step one is trying to relax. And Korra, your hand is shaking.” Korra tried to stave off a deep blush. There were a few reasons for that. Asami didn’t pause. With the prepared paintbrush, she went straight to work.

“It’s cold!” Korra gasped, taking her hand away with eyes as wide as saucers.

“Korra! You’re going to smudge it! Give me your hand back _or else_!” Asami ordered calmly, but sternly.

“Okay fine. But it feels weird.” Korra’s eyes became slender, evidently annoyed.

“You’re so stubborn. Just give it a chance.” Asami laughed, painting Korra’s shaking hands skillfully.

“Wow, you’re pretty good at this.” Korra complimented casually. Asami’s face drooped momentarily, before she regained composure.

“Thanks,” she said softly. “My mom taught me how to paint my nails.” Asami dutifully continued to paint, her eyes further away than before. It wasn’t a painful remembrance. Asami smiled at the memory.

“She was a great teacher.” Korra smiled. As Asami finished her pinkie finger, Korra held her newly painted hand up in admiration. Her eyes were awestruck.

“I think red is my colour.” Korra joked. It made Asami smile.

“It’s fun to see the Avatar do—well, you know. Normal person things.” Asami commented. Korra smiled at that.

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly get to have a typical childhood.” Korra laughed uneasily. She instinctively went to reach behind her neck, but Asami chided her with a soft tap on the top of Korra’s hand.

“Sorry.” Korra mumbled.

“It’s fine! But, don’t touch anything. It’ll dry in a few minutes.”

“What do you mean a few minutes!” Apprehension rose in Korra’s eyes. “Asami, come on! You’re telling me that now I can’t use my arms, _or_ my legs! What if I have to itch my nose?!” Korra yelped.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to do it for you! Don’t you just _love_ girls night?” Asami winked sarcastically. They both laughed. Asami began to paint Korra’s other hand.

Korra noticed how smoothly Asami painted each finger, and wanted to try it for herself. A competitive pride and curiosity prompted her to ask, “Can I try painting yours?”

“Of course! Buuuuuut, not just yet.” Asami said unrevealingly. “I’m not quite finished with you.” Something about the teasingly commanding way Asami said that made Korra gulp.

“Close your eyes.” Korra did as instructed, but kept one eye barely open to spy. She wanted to see what Asami was going to do to her. Looking through nothing but a slit in between her upper and lower lid, she saw was Asami’s unimpressed gaze staring back at her.

“Korra, I can see that your eye is open. Actually close them, please.” Korra heard an intense rustling at her lap. Though she couldn’t feel Asami looking for the product she needed, through sound she was acutely aware that Asami’s hands were on her upper thighs. The thought made Korra start to daydream, in part to escape her nerves. Korra flinched at every new sound Asami made in nervous anticipation.

“Just relax,” Asami soothed. Korra really tried. She relaxed her eyes, taking a long breath.

Then, Asami poked her eye with her makeup brush gently. Korra squinted her eyes and screeched.

“WHATAREYOUDOING?” Her eyes widened fearfully.

“Korra, it’s eyeshadow,” Asami said flatly.

“What does that mean?!” Korra freaked.

“You know, like the purple stuff I put on my eyes?” Asami elaborated, her voice hinting at a concealed giggle.

“Who said this is supposed to be relaxing, by the way?” Korra complained.

Asami picked out some warm-toned browns to complement Korra’s blue eyes. She decided to do something light, to ease Korra’s stress as much as possible. She put dark, smoky eyeshadow around Korra’s eyes in place of eyeliner, winging it out slightly.

“Okay, you can open your eyes.”

“Can I look?” Korra said brightly, searching the room for her hand-mirror.

“Not yet.” Asami took both of her hands, and placed them on either side of Korra’s face. She righted the direction of Korra’s head back to facing her.

“Time for mascara.” Korra looked very afraid as Asami pulled out the mascara wand.

“Where is that going?!” Korra squealed.

“Where do you think?” Asami prompted.

“Um, my eyebrows, maybe?” Korra’s voice seemed unconvinced in her own answer.

Asami laughed. “I’m going to need you to blink for me, okay?”

“Blinking. Sure, I can do that,” Korra breathed. As Asami brought the wand closer to Korra’s eye, Korra eyed it warily. She was squinting fearfully, like the tiny wand was going to electrocute her, or something. When it contacted her eyelash, she yelped. Asami ignored it. If the Avatar could handle Zaheer, she could handle some mascara.

“You’re doing great, Korra. Keep blinking.”

“ _Okay_!” She said in a small, high-pitched voice. She was evidently full of discomfort.

“Aaaaaand done! The eyes, at least.”

“Oh spirits. There’s more?!” Korra cursed.

“Don’t worry, the rest is easy.” She smiled reassuringly.

A little bit of blush went on much easier than the mascara did. Asami finished with a lipstick. Hmmmm. Brown, or red? She decided on the darker of the two colours, a dark mauve that was closer to brown than it was to burgundy. Asami took her index finger and thumb, delicately twisting up the dark lipstick tube. Asami’s face leaned into Korra’s. Asami tried to breathe normally so not to tip Korra off that she was nervous to be this close to Korra’s face. She visibly relaxed when she heard Korra’s erratic, nervous breathing. She doubted Korra would be able to hear Asami over her own loud breaths, and that made Asami smile. Asami was intensely aware that her face was extremely close to Korra’s. Asami smoothly dragged the lipstick over Korra’s soft pout. As she did, the tissue of Korra’s lower lip squished delicately at the crosswise movement. Asami had visions of her thumb replacing the tube of lipstick, sending a feeling akin to fire flooding into her abdomen. She had to steady her hand to trace the muted curves of Korra’s shapely cupid’s bow. Asami’s heart caught in her chest.

“Wow.” Asami breathed. It was simple, sure. But seeing Korra’s eyes stand out more than usual made Asami’s thoughts stammer. Her regular ease of computation was arrested, and she could only stare at Korra. It’s not that Asami preferred Korra this way. The makeup just enhanced any softness already present in Korra’s features, and that made Asami’s heart lurch in the familiar way it only did when she was with Korra.

“Are we done?” Korra asked nervously.

“ _Ah-hem_ ,” Asami cleared her throat elegantly. “Yes. Yes you are.”

Asami reached behind her to pass the golden hand mirror. Korra grabbed it hesitantly. Asami watched Korra’s expressions dutifully.

First, there was surprise. Korra’s perfectly painted lower lip dropped, revealing her teeth. They stood out more than usual, contrasted by the dark lipstick colour. Korra went to touch her face, painted fingers trailing over her skin, like she were suspicious it was really hers.

“That’s… me?” Korra asked in disbelief. She started to move her lips around, as if to see if the lipstick would move with them. Her eyes darted up to her lashes, and her dark liner.

“That’s you,” Asami replied with a smile in her eyes.

“So this is what the world’s been missing out on, hey?” Korra joked. Her normal bravado was gone from her voice. She was still taking in her reflection.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Asami argued. “I think that even without all of this—” Asami gestured to Korra’s face. “—the world most _definitely_ notices you. In _that way_.” Asami smiled in satisfaction, watching Korra’s cheeks heat at her comment.

“I feel like a Kyoshi warrior, only a lot less fearsome,” Korra joked again, and this time Asami laughed with her.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like it. But I think I definitely prefer myself without this junk on my face.” Korra stated. Asami agreed, but only in her mind. She didn’t know how to tell Korra she thought she was the most beautiful person to ever exist, without seeming _weird_. It’s not that Asami minded the makeup. Asami just thought Korra was stunning as she was, and makeup didn’t really change that for her.

“Alright,” Korra said. “Hand me the keys. I’m driving.” It took a second for Asami to compute the metaphor. Korra meant she was going to take a crack at painting Asami’s nails. Korra’s comparison of doing her nails to driving a Satomobile made Asami laugh. Korra picked up a deep, aubergine coloured nail polish, and shook it around.

“Up for the challenge, I see? Okay then, trainee. Wow me.” Asami challenged Korra, with a glint in her eyes.

Korra started straight to work. She opened the nail polish bottle carefully, like she might break it if she weren’t careful. Asami tried not to snicker at the Avatar’s attempt at gentility, unsuccessfully. Asami held her hand outwards, wrist down, fingers evenly spaced apart. With her whole hand, Korra grabbed Asami’s entire finger in an effort to stabilize it for her impending paint job. Korra picked up the tiny brush. Her tongue popped out of the side of her mouth in concentration. It quickly retreated upon contacting the lipstick Asami had applied for her.

“Nobody told me it was slimy! Korra spat, talking about the lipstick.

“Nobody told you it wasn’t.” Asami countered.

Korra chuckled, “You’re good, Sato.”

The nail polish brush contacted the skin above Asami’s cuticle first. Korra messily dragged it down along the side of her nail. She seemed frustrated by her complete inability to use the small tool. She returned the brush to the top of Asami’s nail to complete the other half. To Korra’s dismay, her second stroke was almost worse than her first one. Korra inspected her job visually, looking verily unimpressed. Asami’s finger looked like she had let Ikki colour on it. Korra had completely missed any and all margins of Asami’s nail. Asami stifled a laugh. Korra groaned.

“Asami this is way harder than you made it look!” Korra grouched.

“It’s like airbending, Korra. Practice makes progress.” Asami encouraged.

Inspiration washed over Korra’s face.

“Bending, you say?” Korra looked like she had an idea, which frightened Asami. She had seen that look before, and it didn’t always mean good things.

Before Asami could register what was happening, Korra pulled a tiny droplet of paint from the bottle using small hand motions. Asami braced herself for an unknown outcome.

Korra made the paint droplet float over to Asami’s middle finger. It lowered itself carefully onto Asami’s nail. Asami looked up at Korra’s eyes, which were squinted in a deep concentration. Asami’s eyes returned to her nail. The paint didn’t roll. In fact, it was controlled and manipulated easily by Korra’s bending. Korra forced the polish to flatten on her finger, creating a perfect layer.

“Hmmm. A little thick.” Korra commented to herself, pulling another slightly smaller droplet out of the vial of polish. This time, the application to Asami’s ring finger was near perfect. Asami watched in awe. She had of course seen bending in a fighting sense, but it almost seemed out of place when completing pedestrian tasks. She considered it a personal magic, happening right before her eyes.

“You’re a pretty good sport.” Korra commented. Asami blinked disbelievingly, three times.

“Are you serious?” She asked, causing Korra to break her concentration. “Korra, I’ve followed you into multiple battles where I knew certain death was the probable outcome. I’m further in your corner than you could possibly imagine.”

Korra smiled hugely. That smile remained on her face while she painted the rest of Asami’s nails.

“Sooooo….” Korra prompted. “Now what?”

“I can help you take the makeup off?” Asami suggested. Korra couldn’t agree fast enough.

Once Korra’s makeup was removed, and Asami had cleared up her things, it was late. Korra yawned over on the bed, while Asami took her pillow over to it. It plopped down, blowing a gently tuft of air at Korra. Asami knew this whole thing was her idea, but for some reason, she was still nervous. Or, maybe excited. She couldn’t really tell. She pushed her confusion aside, and lifted up the blanket to crawl under. Korra tensed slightly as Asami pulled herself into the bed, but for the most part lay on her back, chest rising steadily.

“Asami, I think I’m going to try to sleep, now.” She announced uncertainly.

“Of course.” Asami said. There was one thing on her mind though, at Korra’s comment.

“I have a question for you, before that. If that’s alright.”

“Sure,” Korra replied lightheartedly.

“You’ve never had a sleepover before, have you?” Asami queried slowly. Her inquiry was more of a sad statement than it was a question. Asami’s words enveloped the quiet, dark room. She looked over at Korra, whose hands were crossed on her chest. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them.

“No,” Korra replied after a while, mildly disheartened. “How could you tell? Was I acting that weird?” Korra asked with mounting anxiety.

“No, not at all!” Asami exhaled. “But you’ve been more uncertain about the order of events tonight than I’ve ever seen you be about anything. I’m no Mako, but I don’t have to be a detective to pick up on that clue.”

“Oh.” Korra said hotly. “Yeah, I was definitely nervous.”

“You don’t have to be nervous around me, you know.”

Korra sputtered out a laugh.

“Yeah, _okay_.” Korra said sarcastically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Asami retorted, a bit hurt by the Avatar’s strong words.

“Never mind,” Korra replied hurreidly. That hurt Asami’s feelings. Was the Avatar still uncomfortable around her, even after all the years they had been friends? No wonder Korra didn’t want to sleep in the same bed. Asami knew her expression was hurt, but she couldn’t control that.

“It’s just—I’ve just never had a girlfriend before and I never know if I’m doing it right and I don’t want to mess anything up between us by saying or doing something stupid or strange.” Korra blurted in a blitz of words. Simultaneous relief and excitement washed over Asami.

“ _Girlfriend_?” Asami thought to herself, her ears perking up. She blushed when she realized that her brain was thinking wishfully, and Korra had meant friend that’s a girl. “ _Doing something stupid, or strange_?” What could that possibly mean? In a romantic way? Asami knew she was interpreting that in a more than friendly way, but managed returned her thoughts to baseline.

“I don’t know how to else make it clear to you, Korra. You are _stuck_ with me.” Asami beamed, reaching for Korra’s hand. Asami’s hand brushed over Korra’s breast on the way over, and it made her feel very self-conscious. She didn’t mean it in any way other than accidentally, so she stuffed that excessive conscientiousness down. She held Korra’s hand up, and wiggled it until Korra’s hand was intertwined in hers.

“I’m here for the long run.” Asami told Korra stalwartly. Asami could see Korra’s stress melt into a large grin. She let go of Korra’s hand.

“Asami? You know you’re my best friend, right?” Korra said happily.

“I do,” Asami said smoothly. “Okay, you can get some sleep now. I’ll quit pestering you.” Asami laughed, feeling guilty that she had kept Korra from resting.

“Night Asami.” Korra said.

“Goodnight, Korra.” Asami smiled.

Korra fell asleep readily. Asami could hear her breathing deeply. Every once in a while, she cold even hear the hint of a snore. The snores made Asami snicker. She was glad Korra was able to get some rest. Asami, on the other hand, was having trouble sleeping. She was enlivened by spending the evening with Korra. Her mind began to ruminate on what Korra had said.

Girlfriend. Stupid or strange. She made Korra nervous. She couldn’t sleep without her!

“ _Oh, this must be a dream!”_ Asami grinned to herself, her hands fluttering excitedly atop one another. It seemed as though Korra was saying something to Asami she would never admit in words. Maybe it was all in her head, and Asami just _wanted_ Korra to be hinting at that. With a confused sigh, Asami rolled over onto her side to look over at Korra.

“ _Sleeping beauty_.” She mused jokingly, unwilling to admit the root of the joke being her fondness of Korra’s features.

“Asami,” She heard Korra’s voice utter Asami’s name with a drawn-out warmth. Asami’s breathing stopped. At first, she thought Korra was awake. However, she turned over to see Korra smiling in her sleep. A soft blush powdered Korra’s nose and cheeks.

 _“Was that real_?” Asami’s heart hammered in her chest. The voice Korra used made it sound like she was _in love with Asami_. Asami tried to rationalize what she had just heard, but couldn’t keep herself calm. Most notably, she felt excitement flash through her veins. What a rush! She also felt guilty for listening into Korra’s private thoughts. That feeling, however, was minimal compared to the excitement she felt. Asami couldn’t look away from Korra’s adorable facial expression. Her expression was a mixture of contentedness and glee. The word ‘love-struck’ came to Asami’s mind.

As time passed, Korra’s smile faded, and Asami was beginning to see reason. Her feelings for Korra must have been clouding her mind. Just because Korra was saying her name in her dreams, didn’t mean she meant it necessarily _romantically_. Another part of her argued that Korra never said anyone else’s name in her sleep, so it had to be a special occurrence. Asami tried to ignored that, but couldn’t. Did she have feelings for Korra?

It took a while, but Asami eventually wore herself out. Her pinwheel of thoughts and hypotheticals exhausted her tired form, and she found rest.


	5. The Comedown

Asami woke up, completely snuggled into something. She blinked lazily, her morning eyes attempting to focus. Asami saw a white fabric in front of her eye, obstructing her vision in a humped shape. _Korra_. That hump shape was _Korra’s breast_. She quickly realized her arms were wrapped affectionately around Korra’s neck, and that Asami’s had buried her face into Korra’s chest contentedly overnight. To her absolute dismay she could feel a spot of drool beneath her chin. Her leg, too, was hiked up over both of Korra’s.

Asami counted to three in her head, preparing herself. She dismounted quickly, pleading that Korra wouldn’t wake up and realize that Asami had spread herself all over Korra in her sleep. Asami was absolutely mortified. She couldn’t look at Korra, too afraid she would turn over and yelp at Asami. An awkward grimace brought itself to Asami’s face.

“Whaaaaat?” Korra said sleepily, with her eyes still completely closed. Asami’s face was very, very, hot.

“Nothing, Korra.” Asami tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Asami hurdled out of bed, and went to leave the room. She thought she heard Korra say something else, but Asami was already headed into the hallway.

-

“Asami?” Tonraq’s gruff voice called at the door. Asami had calmed from earlier, and was now dressed and ready for the day. Her voluptuous locks had been pulled backward into a neat ponytail. She hadn’t expected Tonraq to come to her room, though it was their plan to meet later on to assess the functionality one of the machines Tonraq mentioned yesterday.

“I’ll be right there!” Asami said, pulling her last boot on. She hurried towards the door, and opened it to see Tonraq looking at her with a serious expression.

“What is it, Tonraq?” She asked in confusion.

“There’s someone here to see you. They’re waiting at the dock. She said it was urgent. It must have been, considering she came all this way.” Tonraq replied. Asami’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Tonraq and Asami went quickly to the dock, where a large future industries ship was floating. From afar, she recognized the woman she had left in charge of Future Industries. Hyra Unic was a strong-willed, self-possessed woman who had taken easily to leadership at Future Industries. When Asami left, she had felt very confident about leaving her in charge. For her to have come all this way instead of writing, Asami knew it couldn’t be good.

“Mam.” Hyra said respectfully.

“I am terribly sorry to interrupt your personal time and I would not be here if it weren’t of the utmost importance.” Hyra addressed Asami.

“It’s alright, Hyra. I’m aware of that.” Asami said compassionately. “Fill me in, what’s happening?”

As Hyra described the situation, Asami’s heart sunk progressively deeper into her chest. Her reaction had nothing to do with Future Industries, and everything to do with Korra. Asami was going to have to return to Republic City, or the company could be put up for sale. Asami had known that this would be a possible outcome when she officially applied for ownership, but she never anticipated the change would come at such an inopportune time. It could remain operational, so long as she was present. Since her ownership was now officially pending, she would have auditors coming bi-weekly. She would need to find someone to act as liaison to communicate with her father, since she wasn’t ready to face him yet. She would have to catalogue and send in rosters of employees, and their contact information. She would have to detail all of the facilities hazards, maximum occupancies, and those were just the things that sprang to mind immediately. Thinking about it all was making her head swim. The final change of hands for the company would involve meetings with city officials, letters, and miles of paperwork. When she had applied, it was explained to her that the process was involved, and painful. The city official even recommended that she not travel out of the city for the first three months after she received her approval due to the sheer amount of time she would need to devote to ensuring the approval happened smoothly.

Asami sighed.

“Again, President Sato, I apologize for encroaching on your personal time. I thought to write first, but the letter exchange would have created an invaluable amount of lost time. Given the magnitude of the situation, I made the judgement call to deliver the news myself, accompanied by the return ship. I understood you would be needing one.”

“I understand completely. Hyra, I’ll need a few hours to ready my things. You can make sure the crew is in order.” With that, Asami held her hands in each other, and headed straight to back to her dressing quarters. Tonraq followed.

“I’m so sorry for having to leave unexpectly like this, Tonraq.” Asami said fiercely, clearly ashamed of herself. Asami felt very numb. How could she leave Korra, in good conscience? For Korra’s sake, and her own, she felt like they really needed one another right now. The thought of stepping onto that ship made Asami’s eyes bubble with tears, but she kept it together in front of Tonraq. Asami rubbed her wrist as they made their way back.

“It’s alright Asami. We are glad you were here for Korra, but understand that you have things that need to be attended to.” His voice was warn, and understanding, but Asami was hardly listening to him. All she could think about was breaking Korra’s heart.

Her mind began projecting an uncontrollable, repetitive cycle of sentiments. How could she leave so abruptly? That wasn’t fair to Korra at all. How could she leave Korra? Asami wasn’t ready. Asami already felt starved of the Avatar’s company, and she hadn’t even begun to leave! Asami legitimately did not feel as though she could handle telling Korra. She couldn’t handle leaving. She wanted to stay, she didn’t want to leave!

Her thoughts were an overlapping echo of the same thought:

“How can I leave Korra?” Asami broke as she said this aloud to herself in her room. She gripped the dresser with both hands. Her legs felt like they might give if she didn’t. Her head sunk, and she let the tears spill. The large droplets ran down her cheeks swiftly, in a volume that was familiar to her. After her father was imprisoned, and her company was dying, she remembered crying like this. Asami had walked through the empty mansion. Her mother had already been taken from her. Now, her father was gone, and with him went the only source of income she had to rely on. Her company was dying, she was alone, and she didn’t know what to do. Then, she was helpless. Now, she was heartbroken.

“ _I’m not ready_.” She bit her lower lip, _hard_. She whirled upwards, wiping the tears from her cheek as she stared at her reflection. Hyra would be waiting for her. She had to face Korra, and she needed to do it soon. Asami’s things were already packed. She hadn’t brought much. She spent a good deal of time doing the packing, to give herself as much time before going to see Korra. Her heart was as heavy as her footsteps as she set off towards Korra.

Asami knew her eyes were filled with tears. She could feel them streaking her cheeks. Asami would rather not cry in front of Korra. She didn’t want to make this about herself, but the more intelligent part of herself recognized she couldn’t control her emotions in front of the Avatar. She paused at the Avatar’s door with a shaky breath. She wasn’t ready, but she had to be. Asami knocked gently on the door with the back of her hand. Ordinarily, she would use her voice to ask if she could come in, but she knew it would break.

“Come on in,” Korra called casually. When Asami walked in, she saw that Korra was poised in her bed, reading a letter. Most likely the one that Bolin had written her before even leaving on their excursion. Her face was expressionless. It had been that way, for the most part, over the past few weeks. Korra didn’t look up when Asami entered the room. She had just finished breakfast. Despite Korra’s vacant expression, she at the very least looked to be feeling relaxed and comfortable. Korra’s plentiful mass of brown hair was missing its usual wolf tails. Rather, her dampened waves had been brushed backwards by Senna following her bath. Tamped down by its own weight, it laid heavily on Korra’s shoulders. Asami could see wet patches where Korra’s hair fell onto her medium blue robe. A few of the waves were beginning to escape their water-bound penitentiary. These actively-drying waves fringed out at the ends, making Korra look a lot more like the version of herself Asami was used to.

Asami wished then and there that she had an advanced enough understanding of engineering and theoretical physics to create a device that could stop time. If she did, she could prevent her own heart from breaking, that way. At the very least, she could have prepared herself better for this moment, instead of being reduced to a blubbering mess. Korra finished reading her sentence, and looked up.

“Oh, hey Asami—” Her face fell when she registered Asami’s tearful expression. Korra’s eyes widened with concern, her mouth in a downturned ‘O.’

“Woah. Asami!” Korra’s voice pitched uncontrollably upwards in alarm. “Are you okay?! Tell me what’s wrong.” Korra demanded breathlessly.

Asami’s entire nervous system froze in place. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, and couldn’t blink. Asami wanted to do this less than anything in the world. She stared at her from across the room, more tears building in her eyes. Seeing Korra’s terrified eyes staring back at her made Asami feel like someone had punched her in the gut, and that she were now going to vomit because of it. Her tongue felt useless and thick in her mouth. Her heart had most definitely stopped. The inside of her chest cavity—which currently felt void of any human organs—splintered with pain.

“K-Korra, I—…” Asami choked on her own words. She could taste her salty tears.

“Asami what’s wrong?! Tell me what’s wrong, _please_!” Korra’s pleaded, her voice rising in desperate concern.

Asami started to cry, standing in place. Korra’s heart broke as she watched Asami’s gorgeous green eyes spill over with glassy tears. Asami’s burgundy lip quivered. She realized she had never seen Asami cry before. She noted that she never wanted to, _ever_ again. It seemed as wrong a picture as the impenetrable walls of Ba Sing Se crumbling. For the past few weeks, Korra had been feeling numb. She realized she preferred numbness to this second-hand heartbreak. Earlier in the week, Korra felt guilty for Asami’s insistence on helping her through her nightmares. Korra now understood what Asami had said about wanting to help a few days ago. Korra felt that if she could make Asami feel better in any way, it would help _herself_ to feel less broken. Korra felt her entire being and spirit wanting to wrap her arms Asami, but she couldn’t. With every ounce of her being, she attempted to move towards Asami, to no avail. Her paralysis made her unable to do anything. This frustrated her, but she didn’t let that consume her.

Asami ran over towards Korra, practically diving into her as she flung her arms around her. Asami cried into Korra’s shoulder, whimpering. Korra instinctively buried her face into Asami’s licorice curls, and enveloped Asami in a tight embrace. The sound of Asami’s crying made Korra feel fiercely protective over her. Korra’s hand reached upwards to stroke Asami’s hair. The Avatar wasn’t used to consoling people, but with Asami it came very naturally. This felt right, somewhere. Like this is how it was supposed to be. This was where _she_ was supposed to be. Asami and Korra. Korra and Asami.

She knew right then and there that she loved Asami. She didn’t mean that in the friendly way, either. She loved Asami like her mother loved her father, like Katara loved Aang. She loved her more than she had loved Mako. She loved her in the way that made Korra's body shiver when she saw her. Korra loved her more than any being she could imagine. She loved her in the way where every cell in her body ached sickeningly for her. It was a dangerous kind of affection; the kind where Korra knew that she would do things she regretted to keep Asami safe and happy. Korra loved Asami in the way that only fate could contrive. Korra knew in the most ancient part of herself that fate would bend its will to carve their love into existence. 

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about? Whatever it is, I promise I won’t make it weird.” Korra said lovingly. Her comment made Asami sputter out a blubbering laugh. Asami sat back, wiping the wetness from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“I have to leave, Korra.” Asami said heartbrokenly. Asami began to cry into her hands, and Korra rested an arm on her shoulder. 

“You were scared to tell me.” Korra spoke softly. As this realization dawned on her, Korra felt upset. She had a hard time integrating that Asami would have such a hard time telling her something. Korra imagined they were beyond that point. Korra tried to hide her devastation, for Asami’s sake. Korra knew it wasn’t fair to rely on Asami for emotional support. She didn’t feel like she was allowed to be upset over Asami leaving, because Asami wasn’t an object she got to possess for her own personal needs. The Avatar understood that, but it didn’t mean that she was happy about Asami having to leave. Korra admitted to herself that the only thing keeping her spirit alive had been Asami. Frustrated tears threatened her eyes.

“My ownership application for Future Industries finally went through. If I’m not present to handle the transfer, I could lose everything.” Asami said ashamedly.

“Asami, I’ll be okay.” The avatar’s voice broke, but she spoke through the interruption.

“Korra, it feels wrong to be anywhere but with you right now.” Korra interpreted that at first to mean that Asami felt Korra couldn’t handle being on her own. This made Korra cross her arms, and look downwards, away from Asami. Asami was too concerned with wiping her eyes to notice Korra’s momentary pout.

“I’m not on my deathbed, Asami. It’s not like I’ll perish without you.” Korra said huffily, rolling her eyes at Asami’s weak perception of her. Asami let out a frustrated sigh. She followed it by tilting her head backwards, directing a self-conscious laughter towards the cosmos.

“No! Korra, don’t you understand?” Asami motioned to her chest, laying an open hand over her heart. “ _I_ don’t know how to be away from _you_ right now.” Korra’s momentary crossness evaporated. Spirits, she was stupid sometimes. Here Asami was, crying her heart out and Korra had the nerve to be upset with her? Korra knew it had been her own volatile emotions at Asami’s announcement bringing forth this anger and negativity. She felt stupid for letting them get the better of her, thereby allowing Korra to misinterpret Asami. Korra stuffed down her crushing disappointment, and donned a brave face.

“You are going to be _just_ fine.” Korra comforted, emphasizing the word ‘just’ with a breathy exhale. Korra tilted her head upwards to look at Asami, whose eyes were pointed down. “Besides, I’m sure whatever’s waiting for you in Republic city is a lot less difficult than dealing with an Avatar tantrum every night.” Korra was referring to her unending nightmares. “Compared to me, a little paperwork is nothing.” Korra joked. Nothing in Asami’s face changed. “And, you know, you might actually get some sleep now?” Korra tried optimistically.

“I don’t feel right about going.” Asami said in overwhelming defeat.

“You have to, ‘Sam.” Korra replied gently, eyes falling to their interlocked hands. She had begun to shorten Asami’s name tenderly in her mind. Not like ‘Sam’, but like ‘Sawm’. It came out without Korra’s conscious permission, but it sounded right rolling off of her tongue. Like it was always meant to exist in the physical world.

“I know.” She said dejectedly, tears continuing to spill out of bleached emeralds.

“How much time before you go?” Korra asked.

“A few hours, if I’m lucky.”

“Mind sitting with me for a while, then?”

Asami’s response came in the form of inserting herself sitting upright beside Korra. Asami let her head drop onto Korra’s shoulder and allowed her tears to leak slowly. Korra awkwardly wedged her arm out of the space between Asami’s body and hers, and wrapped it around Asami’s smaller shoulders.

Asami could feel Korra’s warm and muscular arm surrounding hers. The gesture made her blush, but it also made her feel safe. Asami really didn’t have anything to say. Her mind was occupied by dreaded thoughts, all of which were taking her to a dark place. She didn’t feel like vocalizing them. They both didn’t want to talk about Asami’s impending departure.

“Did I ever tell you about the time Meelo stole my underwear?” Korra broke the silence.

Meelo had discovered them hanging on the clothesline. Korra went on to describe how they had all found out. Meelo ended up using them as a slingshot for berries, eventually hitting Pema in the eye. As pregnant as she had been at the time, Pema was understandably enraged. She waddle-chased Meelo all the way into Tenzin and Korra’s meditation practice. Upon spotting her blue, crumpled underwear in Meelo’s hand, Korra described how her mortification channeled itself into rage. She entered the Avatar state to chase down Meelo, who had escalated his escape plan by taking to an airball. If not for Tenzin arresting Meelo’s movement, Meelo might’ve drove himself off a cliff in fear of Korra’s burning white glare. Asami’s tears began to dry as she laughed. She loved that Korra knew she needed to be distracted, and fully lent herself to listening to Korra’s wild stories. Eventually, Asami was able to speak normally, too. Asami calmed down with Korra, they discussed everything from Tenzin to Two-toed ping.

“So he really has two _extra_ toes?” Korra said in disbelief. “I can’t believe I missed out on that.” Korra muttered grumpily under her breath. “You understand what this means, right? You and Mako aren’t allowed to put on _any_ sting operations without me, ever again.”

“Fully understood.” Asami giggled.

“Oh, I’m gonna miss you so bad, Sato.” Korra groaned. Asami nudged her lightly.

“Don’t go getting all sappy on me now, Avatar. I’ve done enough of that for the both of us today.”

“Ay-ay cap’n.” Korra nuzzled into Asami’s head, which was still slumped onto her shoulder. Korra wrapped her other arm around Asami’s stomach, placing her hand on Asami’s hipbone. They sat like this for minutes, revelling in one another’s comforting embrace. Ordinarily, they were complete on their own. But today, the two women were two halves of the same whole.

“I should probably go. Hyra’s undoubtedly wondering where I am.” Asami finally said. Korra knew it was coming, but she still wasn’t prepared for it. Her heart dropped.

“I know.” Korra held her a little tighter, taking in every smell, sound and feeling of having Asami Sato in her arms. Korra knew she had to let go, so she did.

“Asami? Can I come see you off?” Korra asked croakily.

“If you’re up for it.” Asami said carefully. “I’d prefer if you did.”

-

The southern water tribe wasn’t exactly wheelchair accessible. Tonraq packed the snow down to allow Asami to wheel Korra toward the dock. Korra hated being outside. She hears whispers as she wheeled through any populated area. Among sharp fervent whispering, she hear clips of gossip.

“ _That’s the avatar, isn’t it_?” Shocked gasps echoed among the citizens.

“ _Is she—like that—permanently_?”

 _“She doesn’t look very good._ ”

“ _Daddy, why is the avatar sitting down_?”

The entire time, Korra looked downwards angrily. She wanted to pitch snow at all of the gawking onlookers. Ultimately deciding that would be a bad look, Korra crossed her arms in frustration. She felt Asami’s hand give her shoulder a slight squeeze, and that made her feel a bit better.

The ride to the dock felt like the longest journey of Korra’s life. Not only was she battling frustration from nosy Water Tribe citizens, but she was trying to stave off the horrible feeling that Asami was leaving her. She thought being with Asami as she left would make her feel better, but it wasn’t doing that at all. It was going to be more painful to watch Asami leave than if she had just stayed in her room. But she knew that it was important for Asami for her to be there, and Korra knew if she hadn’t, would have eventually regretted it.

Asami wheeled Korra into the dock.

“I’ll give you two a moment alone to say goodbye.” Tonraq said, walking away.

Asami knelt down in front of Korra, as she had many times before. Asami put her hand on Korra’s knee. She placed the other on Korra’s wrist, which was resting on her armchair. The physical contact caused a fleet of electricity to spike up through her knee, into her stomach. There went her feelings again, spiraling out of control. Korra craved more of Asami’s touch, reminiscing on how Korra had been able to hold her just moments ago. She felt very much addicted to Asami’s physicality, and that made her feel weak.

“Korra. I don’t know how to say goodbye to you.” Asami looked down sadly.

“It’s not goodbye.” Korra smiled at Asami, finding strength in herself to project for the sad girl in front of her. She reached out to squeeze Asami’s hand with her free one. “I’ll be pestering you again before you even know it.” Korra waved her hand nonchalantly. It broke a smile on Asami’s face, and that made Korra’s heart happy.

“Are you going to be alright, though?” Asami asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine! It’s not like we can’t talk. We’ll write to each other. And like I said a week ago, I won’t be out of commission for long,” Korra assured her. “Now get going, Sato. You have a ship to catch.” She smiled tenderly at Asami, but sadness encompassed her eyes.

Asami’s dark curls were suddenly in her face, occluding her vision. Asami was wrapping Korra’s body in a vice grip, to the point where the Avatar could hardly breathe. Korra didn’t protest. She let Asami hug her at full force. Korra needed the force of the physical encounter to ground her. Her arms wrapped around Asami in return. The Avatar, however, touched Asami tenderly. Asami was like a perfect porcelain doll that she was too afraid to break. Tears spilled out of Korra’s eyes for the first time that day. She had held it together for Asami, but knowing she was leaving was too much for Korra’s emotional regulation to bear. Korra blinked the tear away, her lashes chasing it away. The tears she allowed to spill became lost somewhere in Asami’s beautiful mane. By the time their hug broke, the tears were gone.

“Okay then.” Asami spoke into Korra’s ear. She heard Asami take a deep breath. The inhalation seemed to give her enough strength to stand. “I’ll get going, then.” Powerful, miserable, stunning, and mesmerizing, Asami stood silhouetted against the lively afternoon sea. The vigor of the whitecaps behind her seemed to match her own powerful energy. Initially, Asami began to walk away. She took about four steps, and stopped to turn back to Korra. She looked hesitant to speak.

“Since this isn’t goodbye, it has to be I love you.” Asami’s caring smile shone back at her, tears bubbling at her gorgeous eyes. “You’re my best friend. Don’t forget that while I’m away.” Asami winked lovingly, and turned on her heel.

“Couldn’t if I tried.” The avatar pretended to joke, but it came out as an awkward gaiety, seasoned with sarcasm.

As Asami walked away, the Avatar stared at her a little _too_ long. Her legs, her hips, and her small waist were entrancing. Korra absorbed that feeling so that the emptiness she felt wouldn’t take over. She walked up the ship’s ramp, disappearing into the giant metallic monstrosity.

“I love you, Asami.” The avatar said to herself, now that Asami was out of earshot. She meant that, in the least friendly way possible. She wanted to scream it after Asami. She wanted to scream at Asami to come back. That wasn’t her place, though. The void left inside of her by Asami’s departure was crushingly dissociative. Kora didn’t feel much, except for the urge to cry. She wouldn’t allow that, though. Not until she was alone.

“ _It’s hard to watch your entire world fade away_.” Korra thought to herself.

As she watched Asami wave goodbye, Korra half-heartedly waved in response. The ship slowly faded into the distance. Korra’s spirit felt like it was following the disappearing ship. Once it was out of sight, Korra spoke, but didn’t look at her father. When she finally couldn’t see Asami anymore, she let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

“I want to go home now, Dad. If that’s okay.” Korra spoke solemnly.

Tonraq put his broad hand on his daughter’s shoulder, and began to escort Korra back to her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! This is the final chapter I had planned until I saw the response to the series. If you want me to continue, let me know! It would pick up with Korra and Asami's feelings at spending time apart. If there's enough interest, I'll write into their adventures as they canonically fall in love. Thank you for your support if you have made it this far! It means so much to me! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am obsessed with Korrasami, and I went on a five day writing binge after finishing book 4 to create this. I'm aware my tenses sometimes switch, and my punctuation may not be perfect. My goal for this was honestly just to have fun and to represent the characters faithfully. From one fan of the series to another, thank you for reading! <3


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